A To Z Twitter Rasagola #TwitterRasagola

For this year's April A2Z theme, I had been planning some topics. 

My last year's theme was #RasagolaA2Z where I had shared posts about Rasagola. 

Rasagola is a delectable dessert that originated in Odisha, India. The main ingredients are cottage-cheese and sugar-syrup. 

Also called and pronounced in several different ways viz. Rasgulla, Rasagula, Rasogolla, Rosogolla etc., Rasagola is called the 'King of Sweets'.

We have been celebrating a day for Rasagola or Rasagola Day as- "Rasagola Dibasa #RasagolaDibasa" on social media from 2015 Nabakalebara Ratha Yatra onwards. 

It helped in creating awareness about the connection of Rasagola with Odisha and also about the centuries-old ritual- Niladri Bije of Odisha. Our celebration and promotion also generated interest for the Geographical Indication (GI) tag.

Odisha earned the GI tag for "Odisha Rasagola" on July 29, 2019.

The following image from Google Trends shows the spike in the search for Rasagola on the same dates

Twitter, Abuse And Swachh Bharat

I love Social Media (SM).

I feel SM has tremendous power viz. the recent Elections 2014.

 

I feel SM needs to be "Swachh" (clean) of the ills plaguing it. 

In this post, I have shared my experience about Twitter (to illustrate SM)! 

Some Twitter-users like me have faced abuse. 

Fake profiles, anonymity & virtual interaction gives a cloak to people to act dirty.

- There are "trolls" that target our tweets, especially those having the trending hashtags. 

- Congratulate a winner & the losing candidate's fans question your choice & whether the result is ethical!

- Post anything against important people- X-Y-Z & their supporters hound you!

- Post appreciation about something good that's happening & haters of that person/policy attack you!

Let me take the example of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. 

Customized Social Share Buttons

Last month, I wrote a post - Blog Friendly Share with info about incorporating Social Media Share Buttons in our Blogs for easy sharing of our posts.

I recommended - How to Add social sharing media button below every Blog Post.

However, I found that it wasn't customized as per my Blog & my credentials.

2 States Movie Promotion At Kolkata

A new Mall of Kolkata named Quest had a Twitter Contest #2StatesAtQuest recently.

We were to tweet our reasons why we want to meet Alia Bhatt & Arjun Kapoor, who play Ananya & Krish in 2 States Movie.

The prize was a chance to meet the cool couple!

Blog Friendly Share!

The other day I got a great suggestion from Richa-

"get a nice share button on your blog posts which has your Twitter handle embedded easier to share around then."

She posted her comment after reading my Post- I Can Go Far For My Love!

Shaadi Ke Side Effects - Review

Note- This review has the story in brief, as shown in the movie's trailers...

The latest Hindi movie, Shaadi Ke Side Effects is a fun drama about life in a nuclear-family when the DINK (Double-Income-No-Kid) couple, aspiring singer, Sid (Farhan Akhtar) & Trisha (Vidya Balan) plan to have a baby. 
 

The actual reaction of Trisha’s mother (Rati Agnihotri) & the explanation Trisha gives to Sid is notable, as are the careful reactions of the protagonists. Their daughter’s (Mili’s) birth signifies changes on all fronts for them – mental, emotional, physical…

Trisha decides to quit her job to give full-time-attention to Mili. The couple now becomes SIOK (Single-Income-One-Kid). Their lives are centered around Mili and they hardly have any time for one another. 

Sid approaches Trisha’s brother-in-law Ranveer (Ram Kapoor) for tips on marital success. Ranveer feels that ‘for a happy married life, one has to cheat on his wife.’ Like a good student, Sid employs the tricks Ranveer teaches him. In their quest for seeking space, Sid and Trisha both drift apart...

While Sid shares time with Manav (Vir Das), Trisha gets pally with her next-door-neighbour, Shekhar (Purab Kohli). They also employ a pricey governess, who prefers to be called Aunty (Ila Arun). After the hiccups, they finally accept one another and realize that trust and honesty is the key for a good marriage. 

While the first half is more entertaining and is sure to guarantee laughs, the second half stirs us and seems a bit heavy. All is well that ends well! Happy Ending! 

Shaadi Ke Side Effects is a must-watch. It has super acting by the lead stars. There are many scenes where the chemistry between the couple shines through. Songs & dances are great! For me, Shaadi Ke Side effects is full "entertainment, entertainment, entertainment" & value-for-money. In some scenes, I found myself & the Multiplex audience uninhibitedly LOL! 

Watch it & LOL!

My Rating: 3.5/5 

After coming out of the Movie-Hall, I sent many tweets about Shaadi Ke Side Effects. Here are some of them:

I was elated when I was declared as the winner of Radio Mirchi's Mirchi Review Twitter Contest!
 

This Post is for the Festival of Words - Day 3 : Free Write

 

Odisha Quiz

I shared a poem & images in 'Guess This Place!'. 
The 'Place' is- Odisha.

Recently, I got to conduct an Odisha Quiz in Twitter - My First Twitter Contest As A Curator.

Here are the Q & As for you to check out your OQ- Odisha Quotient!

Q1- This depicts the Rath Yatra. What are such traditional paintings of Odisha called? 

A1- Pattachitra

 
Q2- Which place of Odisha is famous for such colorful applique works that are also named after the place? 

A2- Pipili


Q3-  Which city, famous for such Tarakasi (Silver Filigree), was the previous capital of Odisha? 

Tarakasi or Silver Filigree

 A3- Cuttack


Q4- The Shanti Stupa at Dhauligiri is on the banks of which river of  Odisha? 

The Shanti Stupa, Dhauligiri

 A4- Dayanadi or Daya River


Q5- Identify this traditional cheese-based syrupy sweet-dish that originated in Odisha.

 A5- Rasgulla/Rasagola

 
 Q6- What do the #Odisha attractions- Atri, Deulajhari, Taptapani & Tarabalo have in common? 

 
A6- Hot-Springs


Q7. Rushikulya Estuary & Gahirmatha Sanctuary in Odisha are famous for which marine creature?  

A7- Olive Ridley Turtles


Q8. Which city of Odisha is known as the 'City of Temples' as at one time it's said to have 100,000 temples? 
 

A8- Bhubaneswar


Q9. Name Asia’s largest brackish water lake that is in Odisha.

A9- The Chilika Lake


 
Q10. How many Wheels are there in this UNESCO World heritage monument in Odisha ? 

A10- 24 Wheels in the Sun Temple, Konark.


How many answers did you get right? Please do share!

Learn more about Odisha from the- Odisha Tourism Government Website
 

My First Twitter Contest As A Curator!

I was pleasantly surprised when Team Photokatha* offered me an opportunity as curator of their Twitter handle - @photokatha.

I was to conduct their weekly #Travelkatha quiz.

So far I had been on the other side of curation- as an avid Twitter-Contest player! Role-reversal then!

As I have never done curation before and also owing to my most important and scarce resource- time, I wanted to postpone the chance. But, then my love for travel & quizzing made me pretty excited.

Also, I have been planning to write about Odisha in my Blog for long. I decided that this was my chance to cover Odisha in the Quiz as I feel this state needs focus & publicity as many people aren’t even aware of its natural wonders & art & architectural treasures. 

The date and time for the #Travelkatha Quiz was fixed for January 17^th 2014 at 3 PM @photokatha 

The friendly team was constantly in touch with me all throughout. They designed and shared the cool Banners.

Based on the team’s instructions, I managed to do a decent job that they were too kind to acknowledge & encourage!

There was great participation. Many Tweeps were very active and took part enthusiastically. I wish to thank all those who contributed answers to the questions and appreciate their efforts to share facts and images about Odisha. 

It sure increased our Odisha knowledge.

I had noticed the efforts of everyone and had read every single tweet. Team Photokatha had also chipped in throughout.

The Quiz was over at 7 PM. 

Later, after the Quiz ended, I signed off and logged on to my Twitter account.

I wanted to personally tweet and thank all those who had joined in and were engaged… I had even started doing so & then I stopped when I realized that it’s a good number & I need to invest more time and effort to do that! Hence, sent a general tweet!

This is to thank all the participants, contributors & Team Photokatha. 
You all are awesome! THANKS! 

I was so involved with the Odisha Quiz that I skipped lunch yesterday and even missed the Breaking News… 

I wish I were Santa Claus- I’d gift everyone! For this Quiz, two winners will get the two prizes. But, for me, all are winners. 

I know how disappointed one feels when not picked as a winner. 

Being a Curator, I realized many things.

My learnings-

1. Fast Internet Connectivity is needed to handle so many tweets! My Internet decided to ditch me even when I was not playing a contest, rather curating one! (Harrowing time with a lag in posting tweets while trying to reestablish internet connection!)
   
   
2. Tweet analysis, deserving winners judgment & great curation is challenging when the participants are so many and unfortunately only 1-2 can be declared winners.
   
   
3. Sharing all event-related info and timely response to all queries is important & demands a sharp eye for detail & effort! Curator needs to be responsible!
   
   
4. Despite an honest attempt, a novice curator can commit mistakes in haste, yet receive kind words! I made a mental note of all the lessons I learnt. This was a learning-experience.

5. Retweeting & Favoriting all the tweets is not possible! Some tweets had awesome facts but were in ALL CAPS, others had spelling errors of facts... 

   
   

If you wish to be Curator, contact @photokatha :)

*About Photokatha

Photokatha believes in story telling via photographs. Be it your travel expeditions or foodie escapes, you can share your stories with them.

Check out the Questions and Answers of the Odisha Twitter Quiz I compiled and curated!

I even shared a poem & images in- Guess This Place! 

(When my Blog's readers asked if there were any prizes for guessing the place, I realized that I am yet to have a Blog giveaway though now I have sponsored a Twitter contest for the first time! Time to be Curator of my Blog!)