Petals of Gratitude: Ghumakkad@250,000

250,000 page views is no big deal.

Internet counts in millions of pageviews. So, should Ghumakkad rejoice?

Yes, we should. Not because we have crossed 250,000 views but because we have brought a smile on your faces during otherwise gloomy period of the pandemic. Our sincere gratitude. Like the rose petals in the picture below.

Ever since we reached 200,000 milestone in July 20, we have made an endeavour to post stories with a positive message. Some of these stories are listed below. Click to browse.

A Squirrel Comes Home

I Got a New Life- A Corona Survivor's Tale

Bouncing Back in Lockdown

Stay Home Stay Safe- What a pair of Kittens teach us

Breaking Free In Lockdown

Every Day Is A Sunday

Lockdown Is ... Happiness

Corona The Global Threat

You can't Deter a Teacher

Take the Virus Head on - Another Corona Survivor's Tale

We feel thrilled that KBG- Kaun Banega Ghumakkad online contest- continued to receive your active participation throughout the pandemic. Based on your feedback, the KBG Contest underwent a format change. One of the readers a well known cardiologist, remarked to Ghumakkad that 'your KBG questions are tougher than the MD entrance exam!' Though in a jest, it set us thinking. So, instead of quizzing you about flowers, plants, grasses, trees, birds, forts, monuments and places KBG now reveals the picture apriori. All you have to do is to give the picture a caption. Best captions are the Winners. Some of the winning KBG entries are given below.

Our Growth

Following screen shots depict the steady growth in our readership.

Our posts during the pandemic added variety and portrayed a spirit of positivity. See the sample below.

Please note the post on Brahma Kamal flower which blooms at night, has attracted the readers steadily.

You can see the variety of posts during last 12 months which the readers liked. From eco-friendly waste disposal to Volunteers who saved lives during the 2nd wave of the pandemic, to Lockdown not again- Ghumakkad felt happy at readers' responses.

Even though the stories are more than four years old, it is still popping up at No. 1 in Google search. A tribute to our readers!

Our stories have been picked up by Google Featured Snippets. See the screen shot below.

Ghumakkad has reached thus far only because of you the readers of our blog. What gives a high to Ghumakkad? See the link below. 

What gives a kick to Ghumakkad?

The following post summarises the spectrum of stories which our blog has posted thus far.

Wide canvas of Ghumakkad- Your own blog

Thank you for your continued support. Our gratitude. There is no greater joy than sharing.

Stay connected. The pandemic will soon be a thing of the past.

Cheers!

    - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/ 24th Jan 2022

#ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh #250000pageviews #bloggers #travelblog #wildlifeblog #natureblog #picturesquequotes #pq #blogreaders #thrillofsharing #gratitude #joyofsharing #knowledgesharing #beatingthepandemic #cheersduringpandemic #staypositivedespitecovid #nevermindomicron #kaunbanegaghumakkad #onlinecontest

Lockdown Not Again!

Online classes?

Lockdown?

No, no, not again! 

With Omicron threat looming large, the students worldwide do not want online classes again! It was such a treat to return to the campus after two years. Ghumakkad is delighted to share few pictures with students of both UG and PG programmes at VVISM Hyderabad.

It was great igniting the young minds who resonated together loudly saying 'Yes, We Will'! See the 10 second video clip.

Continuing with experiential learning for MBA students, we conducted live video cases based on recently released feature films. See the picture below showing case discussion based on recent film 'Meenakshi Sundareshwar' during Cross Culture Management class. The students loved the case discussions. A separate post will follow regarding video cases.

Teachers too get bored teaching online. You may browse our story to know what did the teachers do then?

During the lock down, Ghumakkad kept up the spirit of our readers. Some of the stories which the readers liked are listed below. You may click to browse the picture stories.

Covid Couldn't Deter Us

Take the Virus Head On

A Squirrel Comes Home

I Got a New Life- A Corona Survivor's Tale

Bouncing Back in Lockdown

Stay Home Stay Safe- What a pair of Kittens teach us

Breaking Free in Lockdown

Every Day Is A Sunday

Lockdown Is...

We have to live with the virus and its mutations. Just follow the precautions and get vaccinated.

Greetings of the Season.

    - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad @ VVISM Campus in Hyderabad/ 2nd Dec 2021

#campuslife #omicron #beatthecovid #lifegoeson #noonline #backtothecampus #facetoface #learningtogether #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh #vvism1 #vishwavishwani

Dancing Duck

 Seen a duck dancing in water?

Our next caption contest features a Spot-billed Duck. It is the 67th edition of Kaun Banega Ghumakkad. See the picture of a spot-billed duck for KBG-67 below and give it a caption.

Does it not appear to be dancing? Here is another copy without the contest banner for better visualisation of your caption.

Go ahead and give a caption for the above picture fast!

How to Submit a Caption

For the first-timers on KBG, you can respond using any of the six channels below:

1. Leave a comment on this post
2. Send email to hbindia@gmail.com   
3. Respond on the FB post
4. Comment on Instagram @ghumakkadhb 
5. Comment on Twitter @HarshBh21184761
6. Send a WA message. If you want your WA number to be added to Ghumakkad's list, send an email.

Now get going and give your caption pronto! If you feel like, you may suggest more than one caption.

For those interested in knowing more about the spot-billed ducks and other birds in our neighbourhood, you may browse our earlier story 'Celebrating Diwali with the Birds'.

Previous Contest

KBG-66, the 66th edition of Kaun Banega Ghumakkad Caption Contest featured a picture of a butterfly, the Common Jezebel sitting on a lantana flower. It received 47 captions from across the globe. You may view more pictures of the butterflies in our story 'Life is like a Butterfly'. The winning captions of KBG-66 are featured in the story 'Inspiration from a Butterfly'. Two of the winning captions are reproduced below:

Hope we have helped you in overcoming the Covid boredom to some extent.

Now, be your creative best and shoot your response. Most catchy captions will be the Winners of KBG-67! All the best.

Thank you all the readers for your continued support.

Stay connected, stay safe.

   - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/ 1st December 2021

#ducks #spotbilledducks #nature #yaprallake #dancingduck #secunderabad #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh #KBG #kaunbanegaghumakkad #onlinecontest #lockdownfun #takeabreak #captions #powerofobservation #craetivecaptions #pqs #picturesquequotations #naturetheteacher #learningthroughpictures #india #observeandlearn

Teachers too Get Bored!

Do teachers also get bored of teaching online? Ask any teacher. Or, ask yourself if you are a teacher. Honest answer will be yes!

Covid lockdown enforced online classes. A month or a term was bearable. But a year and a half of online teaching posed newer challenges. Both for teachers and learners. So, how do we overcome the boredom? One way is to stop teaching! What? Yes, do away with the slides and lecturing. Take them away from the subject which has bored them. Ask them 'Shall we see a movie together?' Or, 'Shall we go on a hike?' Invariably you will hear a chorus 'Yes Sir!'

We had shared our excitement of movie-based learning a few days ago. It sure helped both the students as well as the teacher- to overcome the online boredom! You may browse our story 'Shershaah-- Beyond the Movie'. Similarly, there can be more ways to beat the Covid boredom in online classes like online games, quizzes, role plays and team competitions. Do share your experience of online boredom.

Readers may browse Ghumakkad's posts on Teachers' Day of previous years listed below:

Who Inspires A Teacher

The Fun is about to Begin

Teachers Open the Door

Teacher Goes Beyond the Classroom - IBS Hyderabad

A Teacher Keeps Learning

Inculcating A Spirit of Enquiry

Covid Couldn't Deter Us The Teachers

Ghumakkad-the-teacher firmly believes that real learning happens outside the classroom! Be it the Internship, field assignments or even a hike in a forest! See the picture below.

On the eve of the Teachers Day 2021, I reiterate that we teachers exist because of the students and not vice versa.

Thank you all my students, former students, fellow teachers and my teachers for enriching my life. Sincere gratitude to each one of you.

Happy Teacher's Day 2021.

    -  Harsh-the-Ghumakkad-learner-teacher/4th Sep 2021

#teachersday #teaching #learning #students #learnercenriceducation #learningbydoing #experientiallearning #learningwithfun #beyondclassroom #livecases #casemethod #internalisation #covidboredom #moviesforlearning #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh

Balancing Give A Caption

Huge rocks and boulders one on top of the other. But retaining the balance. Perfectly.

The more you observe Nature, the more it amazes you!

KBG-60, the 60th edition of Kaun Banega Ghumakkad Caption Contest features a picture of balancing rocks. Location: Ghanapur hills, north of Secunderabad.

Another copy of the picture, minus the contest banner is given below. It will help you visualise your caption better.

Give the picture a caption. You could win KBG-60.

How to Submit a Caption

For the first-timers on KBG, you can respond using any of the six channels below:

1. Leave a comment on this post
2. Send email to hbindia@gmail.com   
3. Respond on the FB post
4. Comment on Instagram @ghumakkadhb 
5. Comment on Twitter @HarshBh21184761
6. Send a WA message. If you want your WA number to be added to Ghumakkad's list, send an email.

Now get going and give your caption pronto! If you feel like, you may suggest more than one caption.

Hope we have helped you in overcoming the Covid boredom to some extent.

Previous Contest

KBG-59 showed a picture of five children jumping together with happiness in an open field.

This picture fired the imagination of 200+ readers! We received a total of 40 captions. For a complete list of the captions and the winning entries, click the story 'Vacationing Anytime'. Two of the winning captions are reproduced below.

Be your creative best and shoot your response. Most catchy captions will be the Winners of KBG-60! All the best.

Thank you all the readers for your continued support.

Stay connected, stay safe.

   - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/ 11th July 2021

#hiking #balance #nature #rocks #boulders #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh #KBG #kaunbanegaghumakkad #onlinecontest #lockdownfun #beatthecorona #lockdown #takeabreak #captions #life #craetivecaptions #pqs #picturesquequotations #naturetheteacher #learningthroughpictures #hyderabad #ghanapurhills

Not Far Behind

Monsoon clouds, first showers, the snail can't be far behind.

See the picture below taken at the entrance stairs of our house in Secunderabad India. What does the picture tell you? Give it a caption. Your creative caption could get you the Winner's tag of KBG-57, the 57th edition of Kaun Banega Ghumakkad. It is an online captions contest. 

How to Submit a Caption

Now get going and give your caption pronto! If you feel like, you may suggest more than one caption.

For the first-timers on KBG, you can respond using any of the six channels below:

1. Leave a comment on this post
2. Send email to hbindia@gmail.com   
3. Respond on the FB post
4. Comment on Instagram @ghumakkadhb 
5. Comment on Twitter @HarshBh21184761
6. Send a WA message. If you want your WA number to be added to Ghumakkad's list, send an email.

Hope we have helped you in overcoming the Covid boredom to some extent.

Previous Contest

KBG-56 showed a picture of a flowering Bougainvillea creeper along with the fallen pink flowers. Just a single picture generated almost 40 creative captions. For complete list of the captions and the winning entries, click the story 'Taming the Second Wave with your Mind'. Two of the winning captions are reproduced below:

Be your creative best and shoot your response. Most catchy captions will be the Winners of KBG-57! All the best.

Stay connected, stay safe.

   - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/ 3rd June 2021

#nature #monsoonishere #secunderabad #telangana #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh #KBG #kaunbanegaghumakkad #onlinecontest #powerofobservation #lockdownfunathome #beatthecorona #lockdown #stayhomestaysafe  #captions #snail #life #craetivecaptions #pqs #picturesquequotations #naturetheteacher #overcomingchallenges #learningthroughpictures #lessonsfromasnail

The Bridge Needs A Caption

Cable stay bridge in a lake. Reflection in the placid waters. What else do you see in the picture?

The picture awaits your caption. Please keep it short.

KBG-53, the 53rd edition of Kaun Banega Ghumakkad online caption contest is here. Give a caption and be the Winner.

A word about the picture. It was shot in Laknavaram lake in north-eastern Telangana. The cable-stay bridge connects the main land to the island in the lake. The island has a boat jetty, accommodation for tourists and a restaurant run by the Tourism department. Now go ahead and submit your caption!

For the first-timers on KBG, you can respond using any of the six channels below:

1. Leave a comment on this post
2. Send email to hbindia@gmail.com 
3. Respond on the FB post
4. Comment on Instagram @ghumakkadhb 
5. Comment on Twitter @HarshBh21184761
6. Send a WA message. If you want your WA number to be added to Ghumakkad's list, send an email.

The timing of the KBG Contest is chosen to suit the readers in most of the time zones across the world.

Hope we have helped you in overcoming the Covid boredom to some extent. For those interested in reading more about Laknavaram Lake, you may browse our story titled 'The Lake That Charms You'

KBG-52 showed a picture of hundreds of demoiselle cranes feeding together. One single picture generated more than thirty interesting captions. For complete list of the captions and the winning entries, click the story 'Ghumakkad Ghar Aaye'. Two of the winning captions are reproduced below:

Be your creative best and shoot your response. Most catchy captions will be the Winners of KBG-53!

Stay connected, stay safe.

   - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/ 13th March 2021.

#nature #laknavaramlake #telanganatourism #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh #KBG #kaunbanegaghumakkad #onlinecontest #powerofobservation #lockdownfunathome #beatthecorona #lockdown #stayhomestaysafe  #captions #travelfun #naturelovers #craetivecaptions #pqs #picturesquequotations #laknavaram #cablestaybridge #virtualtravel