Life Update- June 2020

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Eid Mubarak! I hope you all have a lovely day with family, delicious food, prosperity and good health! – This is my Eid Look. Check out my latest IGTV video to see how I got it 😊 – Onion pink and purple crushed anarkali outfit: @harleenanandcouture Silver jhumkas: gift – #nooranandchawla #eid #eidlookbook #eidlook #eid2020 #eidmubarak #eidoutfit #eidlooks #fashionblogger #ramadan #ootd #picoftheday #fashion #eidfashion #indianfashion #eidaladha #plixxo #indianblogger #blogger

A post shared by Noor – Lifestyle Blogger (@nooranandchawla) on May 24, 2020 at 9:28pm PDT

It’s June 2020 in Delhi, India. The coronavirus is still at large, people are fighting for equal treatment and basic civil rights in the USA, and migrants in India are trudging back to their villages in deplorable conditions, some even walking for hundreds of kilometres. We have just entered “Unlock 1.0”- the phase where the country is opening up after over two months of a complete shutdown. A cyclone knocked on Mumbai’s door, our business capital; swarms of locusts attacked Jaipur, the capital city of Rajasthan; and Delhi, facing frequent seismic activity, is gearing up for an earthquake.

The world may seem like it’s coming to an end, but unsurprisingly life keeps moving. By focusing on staying positive, I believe every adversity can be turned on its head.

The lockdown presented me with a plethora of opportunities, most of which I’m still exploring and working on. While I announce every activity on my social media platforms, I sometimes forget to update them on my blog. So, this is that update. Perhaps I’ll do one every month- a candid record of events in my life. Every month won’t be as eventful as this one, but we’ll take it as it comes.

In no particular order, here goes:

1. MY BLOG RANKS 14^TH IN FEEDSPOT’S LIST OF BEST LIFESTYLE BLOGS IN INDIA

Last month, I was overwhelmed and honoured that Feedspot ranked me in their Global List of Lifestyle Blogs. Just yesterday, I received an email allotting me the 14^th rank for the Indian lifestyle blogger’s list! Woot woot!

Check out the list here: https://blog.feedspot.com/indian_lifestyle_blogs/

2. MY BLOG RANKS 18^TH IN FEEDSPOT’S LIST OF BEST LIFESTYLE BLOGS IN THE WORLD

Though I was ranked 19^th on this list initially, I’ve moved up a spot to rank 18!

Check out the list here: https://blog.feedspot.com/lifestyle_blogs/

3. I’M WRITING A WEEKLY FEATURES COLUMN IN THE ONLINE NEWSPAPER “THE DAILY GUARDIAN”

Ever since I started blogging, I had nurtured a dream to write a features column in a newspaper or magazine. I finally have that opportunity with a weekly column in “The Daily Guardian”. My posts will be published every Saturday. Here’s the first one on avoiding conflict situations at home during lockdown:

https://thedailyguardian.com/5-ways-to-avoid-conflicts-at-home-during-lockdown/

4. I’M HOSTING A WEEKLY TALK SHOW WITH THE 1947 PARTITION ARCHIVE ON THEIR FACEBOOK PAGE

The 1947 Partition Archive documents the stories of survivors of the partition of India. Having collected over 9300 stories so far, they are racing against time as the affected generation is dying out. They have been unable to proceed with their regular methods of preserving stories during the lockdown, but to keep the conversation alive, they are conducting weekly Facebook Live sessions called “Sunday Stories Live”.

Eminent personalities whose work focuses on the partition, are invited as guests and I’m the host for the event. For the first episode, I spoke to Urvashi Butalia, writer and publisher, on her book “The Other Side of Silence: Voices from the Partition of India”.

Watch the episode here:

5. MY SHORT STORY HAS BEEN FEATURED IN THE ANTHOLOGY “THE WOMAN THAT I AM”

Deeply affected by the religious riots in Delhi earlier this year, I penned a short story called “The Turmoil Within”. It has now been published as part of an anthology of works entitled “The Woman That I Am”, released during the Blogchatter E-Book Carnival. Edited by Rashi Roy and Manas Mukul, this anthology stands apart from others as it’s a unique collection of fictional works, poetry and opinion pieces, in Hindi and English, with the only common thread being womanhood.

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Stories are a reflection of real life, a mirror unto ourselves. This dramatic reading is of an excerpt from my short story “The Turmoil Within”, which has been published in the exclusive anthology “The Woman That I Am”, as part of the @blogchatter ebook carnival. Edited by @royrashi17 and @manasmukul , the anthology includes works by 30 talented writers, across genres of fiction, poetry, memoirs and opinion pieces; exploring the various facets of womanhood and what it means to be a woman. This book will resonate with everyone- you may even find a part of yourself reflected in it. – Download your copy for FREE for a limited time only, at this link (CLICKABLE LINK IN INSTA PAGE BIO): https://bit.ly/TheWomanThatIAm – #nooranandchawla #thewomanthatiam #rrxmm #blogchatter #blogchatterebookcarnival #ebookcarnival2030 #ebook #fiction #shortstory #woman #feminist #feministwriting #delhiriots #northdelhiriots #fictionlovers #indianwriters #indianauthors #indianblogger #blogger

A post shared by Noor – Lifestyle Blogger (@nooranandchawla) on May 31, 2020 at 10:58pm PDT

Download it for free for a limited time here:

https://bit.ly/TheWomanThatIAm

6. I RECENTLY REVAMPED MY WEBSITE AND JOINED LINKEDIN

Making good use of the extra time on hand, I finally tackled some of the tech stuff I usually put off! I’ve revamped my website and made it more user-friendly, and I’ve joined LinkedIn.

Subscribe to my website here: https://nooranandchawla.com/

Connect with me on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/noor-anand-chawla-64117a1aa/

7. THERE’S LOTS HAPPENING OVER ON MY INSTAGRAM PAGE

I have finally begun enjoying Instagram because I’m finding my feet on it, and creating content I enjoy. I have daily Insta Story updates, weekly TV show/movie reviews of the latest releases, and I’ve recently started dabbling in personal beauty and styling posts.

If you’d like to check my page out, visit here:

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“Pleasantly plump” “Curvy girl” “You have the perfect child-bearing hips” “You’re not fat…. but you’re not thin either!” The list of derogatory definitions of my body type goes on and on…. But honestly, they don’t bother me. I love my curves and I enjoy the challenge of styling myself to enhance the good parts and hide the parts I’m insecure about. This doesn’t mean I don’t strive for weight loss and becoming fitter, it just means that I embrace my body in every form it takes. – Many of you have been enjoying my personal style through my posts, IGTV videos and daily Insta Story Updates. So, I’ll be sharing tidbits from my personal “curvy girl” style journey going forward. – This look was for a video shoot and I loved the play of proportions in this outfit. A fitted top balances the voluminous sleeves and the loose harem pants. The statement necklace adds extra pizzazz. – Red ruffle sleeve top: @shein_in Black linen pants: Sarojini Nagar thrift shopping Multi-metallic necklace: Local designer from Rome, Italy – #nooranandchawla #personalstyle #personalstyleblogger #curvygirl #curvygirlfashion #curvygirlstyle #curvygirlsrock #indiancurvygirl #ootdblogger #ootdindia #thriftstorefinds #thriftedfashion #fashionblogger #fashionbloggerindia #plixxo #plixxoinfluencer #bodypositivity #fashion #bodypositivitymodel

A post shared by Noor – Lifestyle Blogger (@nooranandchawla) on Jun 3, 2020 at 11:25pm PDT

8. I WROTE MY FIRST POST FOR THE IWSG AND CONNECTED WITH A BUNCH OF COOL WRITERS

In an effort to revamp the blog, I have begun reading and interacting with a bunch of cool bloggers whose work I was earlier unfamiliar with. I recently wrote my first post for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group (IWSG), where writers are encouraged to share their fears and successes without judgment. The prompt for this month was to share some writing secrets.

If you’d like to read five of my writing secrets, visit this page:

https://nooranandchawla.com/5-writing-secrets-i-hide-from-the-world/

9. I’M CONDUCTING MONTHLY BLOGGING WORKSHOPS

Perhaps the biggest development of all has been that of my business model! With two successful blogging workshops under my belt and the third one around the corner, I’ve realised how much I enjoy teaching what I know and spreading knowledge. The workshop is aimed at people who are new to the blogging world, or people who find the subject intriguing but don’t know where to begin.

If you’re interested, sign up for the next one here, which is slated for Saturday June 20 from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m.:

https://www.queensbrigade.com/learn-to-monetise-your-blog-with-noor.php

10. I’M MAKING WEEKLY SELF-CARE VIDEOS FOR FACEBOOK GROUP MOMMY A-Z

I have been an active member of parenting peer group Mommy A-Z for a long time, and I was delighted to work with them on a weekly video series, where I share useful and practical self-care tips. You have to be a member to watch the videos, but if you’re interested, here is the link to join:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/mommyatoz/

That’s a lot of shameless self-plugging I know- please forgive me! But if I don’t share what I’m doing with the world, who will?! I wish you well, and I hope this period helps you to become stronger and more determined to achieve your life goals.

If you read this entire post till the end, thank you so much, from the bottom of my heart.

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*This is not a sponsored post.

**Copyright in pictures and content belongs to nooranandchawla.com and cannot be republished or repurposed without express permission of the author. As I am a copyright lawyer by profession, infringement of any kind will invite strict legal action.