Upgrading Car with Quikr NXT!

The new Quikr NXT feature from Quikr is really efficient and does wonders by instantly connecting buyers and sellers! In my earlier blog post about Quikr NXT, I wrote about how the new chat feature is better in terms of security and easy to deal with for both buyers and sellers. In this blog post, I detail about how I went about upgrading my old car with choices from market using the power of Quikr NXT!


First things first, I owned a hatchback which I bought nearly 5 years ago! It was perfectly fine for my needs as a bachelor. But now I found its space very limiting and also doesn't cope up well for my current needs to go on long trips. So the thought of upgrading my car was in my mind for a while. To start the process, I had to create an advertisement to sell off my current car. Generally this is where people get stuck because identifying a good price to sell a car is often a big problem but this is where Quikr's Free MSP calculator came in real handy for me to get a rough quote for my old car!

Once I got a rough idea of how much to quote for my old car, I confidently created an advertisement using Quikr! Within no time I started getting pings via Quikr NXT chat asking more details about the car. Some even asked for posting specific photographs showing backseat leg room and outside views to see the extent of dents etc. But the best part is I was not pressurized by someone standing on top of my head via phone call to get these details immediately. I could get these photographs taken and send it to them at my convenient timings. Since individual chat conversations were recorded, I could easily keep track of individual queries and the quoted discounted prices I quoted for those who showed genuine interest in buying!

Soon I managed to sell off my car for a satisfying price with which I know I don't have to put a lot of money from my hand to go for my upgrade. So with my reserve money in hand, I started looking for second hand sedan models that was under my budget in Quikr. It was such a pleasure browsing through various models at the comfort of my mobile phone rather than painfully visiting re-sellers and having trust issues with their stories.

Using Quikr NXT, I contacted a few individual sellers whose advertisement really matched my requirement. Over the day I started getting good responses for my queries. In fact I even asked a few sellers to send specific photographs for my needs for which they kindly obliged. In no time I was able to pinpoint the one which I genuinely wanted to go for. Since every chat conversation was conveniently recorded, it was very easy to go back and refer to any information that I wanted at any point of time all through out the process. It came in very handy especially during negotiations. Finally I negotiated my deal over the chat and confirmed it when the seller agreed to quote a price which was satisfactory for both. The entire process was so easy for both parties and required no multiple visits to the seller's place or repeated phone calls asking queries. We smoothly concluded the deal with one visit to the seller's place to test drive the car and handover the cheque before picking it up! Quikr NXT has made the entire process of upgrading my car look ridiculously simple!

This post is a part of IndiBlogger Happy Hours topic "Upgrade your Car with Quikr NXT!"

~ Kecak Dance ~

Balinese artists enacting a scene from Indian mythology 'Ramayana' during Kecak dance performance at Uluwatu, Bali, Indonesia.

Click to view the photograph Large on Black!

~ A Little Piece of Heaven ~

On earth there is no heaven, but there are pieces of it.

~ Jules Renard

And my travel took me closer to one!

Photographed at Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu, India.

Bedtime Rituals

It is a nightmare for all parents and that too pretty much at the end of a tiring day to put their little ones to sleep in the night! After taking a good afternoon nap, babies are very energetic in the evening and as the day draws close to the end they somehow derive magical energy and curiosity to be active, thus putting the whole experience of putting them to sleep a big stressful evening ritual. Every parent at one time or the other will look forward to develop a set of bedtime rituals to set the right mood and ambiance for their little ones to prepare their mind to call it a day and put those active little brains smoothly into slumber!

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Instead of following a random, unpredictable set of practices every night, it is wise to follow an easy and fun set of predictable bedtime rituals that will keep them entertained, relaxed, and most importantly give them enough clues saying 'Yo! It's sleepy time. Keeping all this in mind, it becomes very important to plan a set of fun and interactive bedtime activities that is guaranteed to work on a consistent basis to make it all soothing. This blog post is all about my idea of fun bedtime rituals to put the baby to sleep in a most relaxed and comforting way for a good peaceful night's sleep!

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The foremost important step in all this would be to set a fixed time to sleep and that should not be compromised for any reason. The entire process of bedtime activities should start approximately one hour before the actual time we intend them to go to sleep. For this, the first ritual is to gently distract them from their active source of entertainment like Television, Computer or Video games and get them involved in a much relaxed no brainer sort of entertainment. The cues should be strong enough for them to realize it is going to be fun even when they are away from their most lovable entertainment systems. One can just start with a quiet and easy game like peekaboo to distract them initially and get them to the bedroom.

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Then silently hide a toy or an object in the bedroom for them to hunt around. This activity will make them forget what they were doing earlier and let them concentrate on only one thing i.e to find that object! Later when they manage to find the object, raise their curiosity immensely by promising them an interesting story involving that object if they cooperate for a brushing session! Silently sneak in the activity of brushing their teeth, which is very important for their health reasons. Along with it complete their potty time for a stress free night and dress them up in a comfortable pajama to prepare for the night. The best part about each of these activities is that it is slowing sending them signals to go to bed even while they are eagerly awaiting that 'interesting bedtime story' without actually getting diverted by other entertainment around.

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Once they get to the bed and willing to listen, build an interesting story around the object to drive their imaginations to a faraway fairyland. Involve them as a character so they can associate things personally in the story in a much interactive way. This activity will slowly develop their concentration skills and can also double as a base for their dream for that night. Slowly as they grow many knowledgeable stories can be fed into their brains smoothly this way. When their imaginations are already diverted to the fancy land, they are perfectly relaxed and more than ready to hit the bed and sleep!

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Following such fun bedtime rituals on a consistent basis will slowly develop discipline in them to peacefully prepare for the night and also develop many healthy practices without them actually realizing it in a much stressful way!

This post is a part of IndiBlogger Happy Hours topic "Bedtime Rituals", an initiative by Pampers. Check out more information about Pampers and their initiative here. Also check out this video -

If my life is BefikarUmarBhar!

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If there is one quote that perfectly reflect my mindset at any given point, then it is this one by Saint Augustine. I always think this life is too precious to be spent at one place, tied up strongly between four walls of the house, a corner cubicle at work and known set of people. It is not meant to be tortured only by the maniacal urge only to earn more and just settle down with huge debt. This life is meant to be set free. Free of tension and worries that strangle our neck everyday like an invisible pair of devilish hands. One should feel free to dream big and set a lot of Bucket List. Travel far and wide. Experience cultures, meet different kinds of people and fill our minds with beautiful experiences and warm stories that make us feel at the end - YES, I lived a life that is definitely worthwhile! I know this is very subjective. For some, buying a costly flat, a luxury car, paying all that hefty debt and settling down comfortably is all that makes their life meaningful. But such people should make a very careful planning so that their life does not end with an empty bucket list, rather a bucket load of tension!

That said, when I came across this topic about the top 5 things on my Bucket List that I would do if I were #BefikarUmarBhar, I thought of jotting down my top 5 Bucket List items in this blog post. Whether or not I get to complete all of them in my lifetime, even If I manage to complete a few of them in parts, I would definitely consider my life worthwhile! So the grand list goes like this ...

1. Summiting Seven Summits - This first one is for my crazy love for trekking and to quench my thirst to stand on top of the highest point each time to experience that 'top of the world' feeling! This would mean climbing Aconcagua in South America, Everest in Asia, McKinley in North America, Kilimanjaro in Africa, Elbrus in Europe, Vinson in Antarctica and Kosciuszko in Australia! Undeniably a grand list to complete in this lifetime!

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2. Visiting architectural wonders of the world -  This is to satisfy the insatiable traveler in me. Each wonder of the world depicts unique culture and history of the part of the world it belongs to. That way, I would like to visit Great Wall of China in China, Petra in Jordan, Christ the Redeemer in Brazil, Machu Picchu in Brazil, Chichen Itza in Mexico, Colosseum in Italy, Taj Mahal (this of course I've checked off my bucket list) and the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt!

3. Visiting all natural wonders of the world - This is to satisfy the photographer in me and for my infinite love towards Nature! Being a product of Nature, if we don't see and appreciate the natural beauty of this world, it is a life lead meaningless. For this, I would want to visit the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, scale Mount Everest in Nepal; which will be inevitably covered with my first bucket list, Grand Canyon in USA (I managed to check this off my bucket list already), the mesmerizing Harbor of Rio de Janeiro, watching the spectacular Auroral display in Antarctica, have a swim at Devil's Pool at Victoria Falls and the majestic cornfield Parícutin volcano in Mexico. Sounds fascinating isn't it?

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4. Try adventure sports that involves jumping - This is to satisfy the adrenaline junkie that I am. Even though standing atop a summit gives me the adrenaline kick, there are few other adventure sports that involves jumping from the top to push the adrenaline rush to next level! Having tried simple paragliding by jumping off a cliff in Himalayas, I so want to try my hands on winged suite base jumping off a Himalayan peak and Bungee jumping in Grand Canyon!

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5. Backpack across India - Last but not the least this one is totally for my love being Indian! I so want to backpack and travel length & breadth of this country to experience its diverse landscape, people, culture, our roots, food, celebrations and everything that is so unique about this country!

I understand reality is different and often pressing. But thankfully I am different and I am willing to face it. I strongly aspire to fulfill my bucket list as and when my life permits. For, I love to plan and dare to dream big, big enough to push myself from my comfort zone and experience the unknown!

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So are you ready to live your life #BefikarUmarBhar? Do check out this video ...


This post is a part of IndiBlogger Happy Hours topic "Befikar Umar Bhar"

~ Charminared ~

The old city of Hyderabad still retains its old world charm as if it is transported from past to present every single day!

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~ Of Puppets and Palaces ~

Of many things Rajasthan is famous for, one is sure to encounter a lot of colorful puppets and palaces all along the streets. Here a row of colorful puppets are kept for sale in front of patwon-ki-haveli, Jaisalmer, Rajasthan!

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~ Reclining Buddha ~

Reclining Buddha at Wat Pho, Bangkok. Wat Pho temple is where the traditional Thai massage is said to have originated!

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Chat Quikr and Bech Quikr!

Quikr is a quickly growing online classifieds platform with millions of Indians benefiting from it everyday. But with immense popularity comes inherent challenges. There are many issues related to privacy and transaction handling that was reported in the recent times. But Quikr has come out and answered all these challenges in a very smart way with recent announcement of "Quikr NXT", a chatting feature that is so unique to online classifieds platform, is now seamlessly integrated into Quikr platform across mobile and desktop versions. This blog post focuses as a seller or buyer why I would prefer Chat based approach over existing phone based approach to deal with transactions on Quikr!

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Firstly, if I am a seller, leaving my phone number on the Internet means a lot of privacy risk! Though this information is intended for a meaningful purpose of potential buyers reaching me directly to deal with transactions, any miscreant with malicious intentions could tap this information and use it for their own purpose! Mainly female sellers are at great risk if the information shared is used for ill activities unknowingly. With Quikr NXT, there is no more privacy risk as I don't have to share my email address or phone number directly with buyers. All dealings are carried out using my Quikr ID with which I can directly chat with potential buyers looking for more information about the item. So no more worry or concern over my privacy!

View image | gettyimages.com

Next, in the traditional phone based approach, as soon as I post my advertisement for selling an item, I used to get bombarded with numerous phone calls requesting information about the item. It is not as such bad receiving a lot of attention over the item I want to sell but the problem is not everyone notices the advertisement at the same time. I used to face a huge problem of receiving phone calls at totally uncomfortable timings spoiling my mood most of the times! There was no provision to restrict potential buyers reaching me during certain timings. It was as if, once I post my advertisement I am totally at buyers mercy! Now with Quickr NXT, potential buyers seeking more information about the item could just leave me a message via Chat and I can respond back to them at my 'earliest possible comfortable time'! Now no more inconvenience and in fact both parties can live in peace! :)


Lastly, there are circumstances when I have multiple items put on sale via Quikr! With phone based approach, there are times when I got totally confused answering people requesting different information for different items. For sellers, it is always the item that they see for sale that they want more information about. But on the selling end, it used to be irritating, confusing and challenging at the same time remembering different interested parties and making transactions with them. Now thank god for Quikr NXT, there is Chat and Chat history that I can use to put myself in context first before answering people with relevant information that they are looking for. Also I can precisely handle each of their requirement on the go with photo or video of the item in a more specific way they request. I can easily answer the buyer's requirements in real time. Makes life so easy for both buyers and sellers!!


So, no more Fikar. Just Chat Quikr and Bech Quikr!!

This post is a part of IndiBlogger Happy Hours topic "Get Quikr NXT!"