Making up for 4 Years in 4 Weeks!!

Last Friday I came back from office with a revelation. I might not be returning in this building for a month, I wondered! I figured the country was headed to a shutdown and a consequent slowdown once we restart. And suddenly, as I told the kids that I wasn't going to go to work on Monday, the younger one jumped with joy and that's when reality hit. Someone's sorrow was another one's joy. What I thought was doom seemed like boom to my child. She was overjoyed that I was going to be with her for a few weeks, day and night, 24X7...

After that moment, I have had my time to introspect and look inside. I realised that I had spent the last 4 years ignoring a lot of things to build a business that probably won't survive this apocalypse. I realised I had worked so hard tirelessly to tag myself a successful startup founder which will probably not be the case after a month. I figured I had prioritised work over life, myself and family and friends while the latter is all I have now.

While me and the husband worked to pursue our dreams, we forgot what my kids wanted. They barely wanted to share their daily joys with me. They barely wanted to tell me how they made that clay wheel, how their molar is shaking, how they were made the line monitor in school, how they shared their popcorn in the bus. But most of those I wasn't listening! I was more concerned on which payments had come in, how many orders were delivered for the day, who was doing the night shift and who was doing the early morning shift and what not.

We worked and worked thinking it was for the future of our families. We worked because we thought money is what we needed to last us a lifetime. We worked assuming our kids needed a career and only money could provide the same. We worked in the belief that it was the only way to survive in this competitive world. Little did I realise that what i thought were the tiny sacrifices were the biggest things.

But it seems opportunity does knock twice. And this time it came knocking and swept me away. I was pushed in a corner with no work to do. It literally took a complete shutdown to wake me up and realise that one can spend an entire day just lying in bed cuddling one child after another. Complete dose of the last 4 years Oxytocin rolled into 4 weeks.

So I am pressing the RESET button. I don't know where life will take me after a few weeks because who knows it might be a new world order. I don't know how materialistic the world be after this pandemic and whether my business services will be just as needed as they are currently. But I know this for sure that I am going to make up for the last 4 years in these coming weeks and live my life. I am going to grab every hug, every kiss and every moment that comes my way with happiness and make it matter. I am not going to worry whether I will be starting afresh at work once this is over or not, life is giving me a second chance to live and I will happily grab it.

I don't care if I am a failed businesswoman as long as I am a successful person.
I don't care if I don't do 40 before 40 as long as I have travelled inside my family's heart.
I don't care if I can't buy that expensive bag as long as my regular cross body has money for milk and bread.
I don't care if I don't have the current model of mobile as long as there is data on the current to stream zoom and netflix.
I don't care if i don't have the latest pair of jeans as long as my tracks and tee fit.
I don't care if i don't go to eat at the new restaurant as long as we have a family cookout.
I don't care for what I didn't do as long as I have the opportunity to make things right now.

How one woman plans to travel to 10 countries in 365 days on a low budget?

Now this is a follow up post on my previous travelling post which received an overwhelming response from friends and family. I was touched by the kind of motivation I received from everyone. Thoughts like 'Go for it, Rupal' and 'You can do it' to 'We gotta do it for ourselves' spurred me on.  Not to miss was my mother expressing her desires to take me through this and accompany me on a trip. At the same time, I also got messages from others like myself who had hidden dreams long unexpressed. Several notes exchanged to the tune of - 'I want to do it too but...' to 'I wish to go to Europe too..' to 'What will I say at Home? .....Then the answer to it all is, the husband will bathe with wet towels for a week, the kids won't do their homework properly, the maid will cook Aloo for 7 meals...But Life Will GO ON...Sab Ho Jayega....

The biggest motivation above all was a certain friend who has planned the entire itinerary for me and spoken to me at midnight ordering me to book my tickets. Long talks telling me' 'Karenge yaar, I will take you' were the wings to the dreams. Another friend who is joining from foreign quarters leaving her nest unattended too was the final nail.

So here is the plan. I am finally going to do a few solo days and a few days of group travel with these 2 lovely girls who're willing to live my dream. The first trip is scheduled soon and will be covering the Balkans in a tryst to cover 4-5 countries. We're going to fly, drive, stay in hostels, eat cheap, local food and make it to 40 in 40. We're going to sit and worry if the kids are fine back home or if the household has been infested by ants but we're going to do this. I say 'WE' because I have realised in the past few weeks that one woman's dreams can be lived by her alone but cannot be conceptualised by her alone. It is the 'WE' that will make it all possible.

Also on the offering is an open plan to visit Cambodia and Laos(Nov/Dec 2019) and seeking active company for that. If you're the one who has never done anything for herself in the last few years, then give me a call. We shall plan to do this together. Also seeking advice from seasoned travellers on what are the best itineraries that can be done on a low budget in 2020. Budget and time will always remain the main constraints for me to complete these 40. Budget- Because I cannot use up my small family income towards only my whims and fancies. On a lighter note, my friends even suggested crowd funding for this. The proud husband absolutely shunned the idea and is funding it now. Time- Because I am not only Rupal, I am also a wife, a mother, a business owner, a daughter, a daughter in law and a home keeper. I need to ration my time and check lean periods at work, check kids holidays, check the husbands schedule etc etc. There is a whole lot of planning that has to be done before I can book the next holiday. But as my friend said- Ho jayega, Rupal. Sab Karenge!

Gratitude towards Family and Friends who will be providing much needed support in my absence.
Much Love for everyone who has motivated me in following this dream. If I ever write a book, you will have a mention. ;)

Blessed
R

To Travel Or Not to Travel: Quest to 40

Around the same time, last year, I starting prepping up for Mohit's 40th Birthday. What to gift? What to do? How to make it special blah blah...During the same time, I remembered that I was going to hit 40 too. Soon if not sooner. And I did some soul searching on what I had achieved and what I wanted to do before I hit the coveted 40. One random flash in my mind and I hit upon the idea of 'Travelling to 40 countries before I turn 40.' After all, I loved to travel. So wouldn't that be a great mark to sit on when i turn 40 years of age? The idea sounded too cool.

Fast Forward to June 2019, while vacationing in Scandinavia and sitting in my 30th country. I remembered the vow I made. All the time realising that I was 15 months away from my birthday and 10 countries to do. A huge ask. A strain on budgets. A large pool of time. Something inside me told me that I needed to do this for myself. I needed to have a goal and go all out for it. The 'Ja Simran, Jee le Apni Zindagi' moment came when Mohit backed me to say , 'You have my support, Go do it!'

So here I am, with around 400 days to go and 10 countries to visit. I am planning itineraries and exploring locations I have always wanted to visit. I am shunning other expenses because I have to allocate resources for this. I am prepping the kids that I will be missing in action for a few days each month or so the next year. Last but not the least, I am preparing myself to travel solo. Because if I need to do this on a budget, I need to do it alone.

So if you are a friend or family who loves me and wishes to see me happy on my 40th, then do me a favour. Visit a new country with me. Pick up the phone and choose one of the below mentioned itinerary and say 'lets do this together'. I promise to have a good time together.

I am not a tourist but a traveller. I will explore. I might have to do some countries in a hurry, maybe less than 24 hours at one place. But I will enjoy them. I am doing it for a purpose. And the purpose is ME.

Suggested itinerary- Pls remember all holidays will be low budget. Cheap Airlines, Airbnb stays, road travel(wherever possible) etc etc...

August 15 Weekend-5 Days(Open)

Seychelles & Madagascar

September 13- Birthday Week(Penultimate 39)- 7 days(Open)
1. Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium
2. Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary

Nov 3 Week- Dad's 70th Bday Celebration(Part Family, Part Open)
1.Cambodia, Laos
2. Bhutan

March 2020- Anniversary with Husband(Sealed with a Kiss)
Jordan, Israel, Egypt

April 2020- 4-5 Days(Open)
1.Japan
2. Bhutan

June 2020- Family Vacation time(Committed)
Croatia, Slovenia, Leichtenstein
Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia, Montenegro

'I will shame you on social media' is the new 'Tu Jaanta Nahi hain Main Kaun hoon?'

As an owner of an e-gifting site, my customer service team often seeks my help in answering customer grievance emails. One of the most common problem faced by them is finding a solution to the social media mavericks who allege to 'shame you on social media'- 'write the same on blogs'- 'tell everyone online if you don't give me this'- 'give you bad reviews online'. Now all of these Instagram and Facebook prodigies whose emails we answer everyday trying to calm them down by stuffing their hoods with freebies and discounts are no less than the 'Modern Age bullies'.

Each time I read one of these emails where the conversation starts with accusations and how 'Indiagift has spoilt their life by delivering the wrong cake' or how 'Indiagift has totally ruined their day by delivering the midnight delivery bouquet at 11:57 PM' and ends with threats of social media shaming. These so called educated and savvy men and women are no less than the goons we found on Punjab, Haryana and Delhi roads who screamed- 'Tu Jaanta nahi hain Main Kaun noon? Both are feigning their high profile status albeit one in the real world and another in the online world. So heavy is our digital usage become now that our digital footprint is giving us the power to hold an online site to ransom lest they use 'online shaming'.

While I agree that Twitter and other social media channels are a very powerful tool to help a customer reach out to the company and seek redressal. But how many times has a customer used this power with responsibility? How many times has a customer gone through the official channels of communication and complaints solving before naming and shaming someone on social media? Also, when has that same repeat customer praised the same company over social media when they kept up their service promises and delivered par excellence? Has the same over vocal person been highly enthusiastic about word of mouth publicity for the same company that helped make their day? Or they just took to social media when the company had one bad day with one bad service/delivery/product.

We've had days at Indiagift when we took the informed decision to ignore customers crying foul over twitter. We didn't give explanations to the other trolls who joined hands to shame someone without knowing anything at all. We didn't tell everyone that the customer was just looking for a freebie(which they might have clearly mentioned). We didn't 'Name and Shame'. Then why is a customer so quick to put our name on the line? Why is a customer so quick to generalise 'all websites as fraud'? Why is a customer so quick to deliver social media 'threats'? For now, we have a no tolerance policy to anything that we haven't faltered on. When we faulter, we admit the fault, apologise and make amends. Even if that means losing out money on that sale. But we honestly accept and pay up.

Then why can't a website owner expect responsible customers?
When the consumer has a consumer forum which he is quick to point out as his final measure to get that freebie; wish we had a owners forum to ban repeat offender online shoppers ?

Quoting Jon Ronson, Author of 'So you've been publicly shamed'- "Social media gives voice to the voiceless people, so its a sad irony that a way to survive social media is to go back to being voiceless."