Answers and questions. And you can enter The Liebster Award 2018. This award gives a platform to the bloggers to connect and get noticed in the vast blogging world. You can self-nominate your blog like I did (if you are not nominated yet by anyone else) and nominate other bloggers at the same time.

The Liebster Award is an award that exists only on the internet and is given to bloggers by other bloggers. The earliest case of the award goes as far back as 2011. Liebster in German means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome.

What to Do if Nominated for the Liebster Award?

• Thank the person who nominated you, and put a link to their blog on your blog.
• Display the award on your blog
• Write a small post about what makes you passionate about blog posting.
• Provide 10 random facts about yourself (optional).
• Nominate 5 – 11 blogs that you feel would enjoy blogging about this award.
• List these rules in your post
• Inform the people/blogs that you nominated

To know more about the Liebster Award 2018 rules , please visit :

The Official Rules of the Liebster Award 2018

What makes me passionate about blog posting?

The term ‘blogging’ always used to sound Greek to me. To be honest, I never thought I would blog someday. Although I enjoyed writing essays , but this activity existed only to pass the literature exams in school. Engineering college and corporate jobs too gave limited time and opportunities to write anything beyond project details and emails to bosses or clients.

It was only after taking a break from the monotonous job, I did a serious introspection to find out what I really loved to do. I discovered that in spite of being a bookworm, reading got very less attention from my end in all these years. After returning to my first love, a wish grew inside me. My favourite authors had a power to think and write anything extremely creative. I wished if I had even an iota of what they possessed.I decided to try my hand in writing.The idea of blogging took birth from there.

I am still in the process of curving out a niche for the blog. Short stories, books I read and my perceptions on various issues reflects in the blog at present. I feel free to experiment with my style of writing, make mistakes and take my own decisions. And the best part is, there are no bosses sitting on my head to dictate each step I take. I am my own boss here.

After one and a half year of blogging, I would say that starting my own blog is one of the best decisions I have taken in my life. Blogging can be frustrating at times too when I run short of ideas on what to write in the next post or see my blog has still not reached the place where I wanted to take it. But blogging is also very rewarding. When the post I have written straight from my heart gets even a single like or an appreciating comment, then it is the best feeling in the world. That makes me even more excited and passionate about blogging.My day is made whenever I hit the publish button for each post. No other job, pay check or promotion has ever given me this level of satisfaction.

While I can go on and on about my blog, it is always a difficult job for me when it comes to talking about my ownself. Still, I would like to give it a try. So here are my 10 random facts for Liebster Award 2018 :

• General perception about me is of a shy and introverted person, but in reality I often end up being a pain in the neck for my near and dear ones.
• I believe talent alone cannot make one successful unless that person works with perseverance.
• I am a diehard fan of Edward Cullen and like many cannot imagine anyone else playing this role apart from Robert Pattinson.
• Even in this world which follows the sooner, the better policy, I still think the age old saying slow and steady wins the race has a lot of value.
• I had a crush on Tintin in my childhood.
• As a kid, the only thing that excited me about visiting my paternal uncle’s house was his shelves full of books from various genres.
• I felt more interested in literature than science in school.
• I love the work of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, but rate Feluda series by Satyajit Ray and Byomkesh Bakshi by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay higher.
• Sometimes I enjoy watching sitcoms as they do an excellent job of diverting my mind from whole day’s anxieties.
• My grandmother taught me the meaning of what goes around comes around since an early age.

And here are my answers to 11 questions for Liebster Award 2018:

1. Out of all the countries, you have visited, which one did you like the most?

Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia are the countries that I have visited till date. If I have to chose one country that I liked the most, then it would be Singapore. Not just because I live here at present. Singapore reminds me of my India in many ways. Friendly neighbours, cheerful friends, warm behaviour of the citizens are bound to occupy a special place in your heart.

Moreover, I sincerely believe the developing countries have a lot to learn about discipline, cleanliness, honesty and thoughtfulness from Singaporeans. The biggest thing is the safety and security women enjoy here even at odd hours of the night.

2. What is the most extreme thing you have ever done?

Rescuing a little girl from drowning in a swimming pool.

For a person like me who suffered from aquaphobia, this incident mattered a lot. When I saw that girls’ hands waving for help, my mind stopped working rationally. Instead of going inside the pool and dragging her out, I prayed God to send someone for her help. She was near the edge of the pool, but her small hands could not reach it. I realised if I kept looking at her for few more seconds, then it would be the most cowardly act of my life. The water scared the hell out of me. As soon as I held the little girl while balancing myself on the edges, my fear disappeared. Finally, I managed to pull the girl out of the pool and myself from the clutches of aquaphobia.

3. If you can take someone with you in your travels, who would it be?

I would take my cousin sister along with me. As both of us are of same age,so we are friends at first. Whether it is cracking lame jokes on each other, pulling legs of the family member sitting next to us or sharing life’s problems, every moment becomes interesting when she is around. We manage to find out something to laugh about even in the midst of serious circumstances. And having one such awesome company while travelling will definitely be a wise decision.

4. Bike or Train?

Train. One can relax and appreciate the nature outside the window while sipping a cup of hot tea and enjoying some spicy Indian snacks. What more does one need in life !

5. What/Who inspires you to travel this world?

My husband is my biggest inspiration(and reason) to travel. He can get along well with people and has the ability to adjust in any situation, a skill which I would like to hone more in myself. His dream is to travel the world with a backpack and his woman in tow. He has already half accomplished it by having a wife in the sidecar. The other part of his dream looks difficult to be true though. After all, having a wife who cannot travel light does not fit well with the idea of travelling the world in a backpack.

6. What is the best memory that you have while travelling?

Puri, Odisha, India. February,2011. This is the place and time where the four of us, I mean my parents, me and my younger brother travelled to enjoy a short family holiday. We spent two relaxing days there sitting on the beach, bathing in the waves of Bay of Bengal, enjoying delicacies in Panthanivas and visiting the famous Jagannath temple. This is the best memory from my travel diary so far as it was also the last time when the entire family went for a holiday together. My father passed away in August, 2011.

7. If you could give someone $1,000,000 who would you give it to?

If I am in the position of having $1,000,000 in my savings account ever, then I would divide it equally between my mother and my younger brother. Mother, because with this money, she will be able to fulfil those wishes which she had ignored in order to sponsor her children’s education, her husband’s treatment and the home loan. My brother, because he may be younger in age but has more perseverance, intelligence and deserves much more in life than his sister. I am ready to spend even the last penny for them in their times of need, let alone $1,000,000.

8. Apple or Samsung?

I have always been an ardent Samsung user. The craze that every version of Apple products have in the market is beyond my level of understanding. I am happy and comfortable with the user friendly experience Samsung devices give it’s customers.

9. What is the scariest thing you have experienced while travelling?

I was travelling to Odisha. The train I took from Kolkata was brought to a halt midway because of a protest. The locals were protesting against a policy taken by the Government. Police failed to shoo away the protesters. The train stood in the station till midnight. A rumour started going round that passengers would need to get down and find their own conveyance. As I was travelling alone, I got scared. Getting a conveyance at that hour in this remote place was not only difficult but also dangerous for a woman. Luckily, the train started after making it’s passenger wait for few more hours.

10. Name the top 3 most beautiful beaches you have visited:

• Kanyakumari beach, Tamil Nadu, India : Beautiful beach with multi-coloured sands. One can also visit the famous Vivekananda Rock Memorial from the beach in a steamer.
• Palolem beach, Goa, India : I went there on my honeymoon. Quiet and clean compared to the rest of the beaches in Goa.
• Kuta Beach, Bali : A relaxing beach. One can either enjoy bathing in the sea or simply sit on the beach and refresh body and soul.

11. How did travelling change your life?

I am a reluctant traveller by nature and need a lot of persuasion from my friends and family to travel. I have many inhibitions about travelling. But each time, I return after a trip, I realise that new realisations, new experiences and discoveries have taken a place in my memories. Every journey taught me how better I could have dealt with a certain situation instead of loosing my cool and try to use this acquired knowledge in my next ‘reluctant’ trip. In short, travelling changed the perception about my own self.

Now, I nominate my friends listed here for The Liebster Award and request them to take part in it by giving answers to the questions following the nominations.

THE QUILL

BEYOND THE END

MAVERICKBIRD

RACING AGAINST TIME

THE EXPLORER OF MIRACLES

VIEW TRAVELLING

PAEANSUNPLUGGEDBLOG

TALES FROM THE MIND OF KRISTIAN

HUMAN WRITES

My questions for the fellow nominated bloggers to enter the Liebster Award 2018:

1. What is that one thing you hate doing the most and yet need to do it often?
2. Who is that one person you would like to thank for standing beside you in times of need?
3. What is the advice you wish you had followed in life?
4. If you are given a chance to rewrite the ending of any novel, which one would it be?
5. What do you look forward to read when you follow another blog?
6. Are you a selfie lover?
7. What will you prefer to do the most – travel to an unknown location or read an interesting book with a cup of coffee?
8. Have you ever judged someone entirely by his/her physical appearance?
9. What were your expectations when you published the first post in your blog?
10. What is that one (good/bad) habit that has stuck with you since you were a kid?
11. You can’t stop laughing when you think today about an incident that happened few years back. What is it?

Please nominate your fellow bloggers for the Liebster Award 2018 and continue expanding your connections !