Looking for something new and fun to do? Group events tend to go the standard routes – dinner, movies, or meeting up at a bar, to name just a few. Get out there and do something different with your group and you’ll not only have an awesome time doing new things, but you’ll also bond with your crew in a whole new way. Check out a few great options for your next day or night out.

Spend a Day at the Park

Spend a day at the park with your pals. Bet you haven’t spent an afternoon playing frisbee, flying kites, or throwing around a football in years! Have some fun with your team and beautiful Mother Nature. Enjoy the boost your pals and the pure sunshine bring with a day at your local park or other outdoor venues.

Volunteer With a Local Non-Profit

There are few things as rewarding as volunteering. For alternative group events, why not get people together to serve a great cause? Whether it’s building homes, cleaning up a park, or planting a garden, there’s a perfect organization out there to support with your friends or co-workers. Not only will it feel good to get out and make a difference in the community, but you’ll also be able to learn about others and their leadership, time management, and natural communication skills.

Cheer on Your Team at a Sporting Event

Take your entire team to the ball game for a fun and memorable group event. Between brews and burgers, get to know your friends or co-workers and their favorite teams. There’s something about a sporting event that takes one back to childhood. Revisiting those days and swapping sports tales will make for a memorable experience.

Be a Tourist For the Day

Sometimes it’s great to explore your town through the eyes of a tourist. If you’re coming up short on team outing ideas, why not try a guided tour throughout your city, or hit up the hottest out-of-towner spots. Who knows, you may enjoy seeing things from the outside in and build a deeper appreciation for your hometown. Plus, it’s always fun to explore the best of your city!

Challenge Friends to a Game Night

Host a game night to encourage a bit of friendly competition. All you’ll need for this party is a few board or card games, some snacks, and plenty of space to seat your guests. Go old school with classic favorites like checkers or Twister, or do something analytical like Scattergories or Scrabble. No matter what you choose, your guests will enjoy feeling like kids again.

Group events don’t have to be stressful or, worst of all, boring. Inject some fun and team building into your next gathering with one of these ideas, and you’ll be ready for an enjoyable time with those closest to you.

Swarga gets particularly colder during certain periods of time. Nandi, the great and obedient Lieutenant of the Gods ensure it to be so because Lord Shiva like Swarga to be particularly cold on his occasional visits to Swarga. Dwelling for most of the time in some particularly cold areas of the United States of Rakshasas, Lord Shiva is meticulous and prefers everything to be as ordered as his home and offices at Mt Kailasa. From the coldness of the atmosphere, to the pristine clarity of the cloud communication everything has to be just right for the short tempered God.

Now the cold does not bother Vyasa, having come from similarly cold environments of Nepal he prefers it cold but he and the rest of the Cloud Infrastructure team are on tenterhooks as ever. After all today is not just any other day. Today is the day of the All Hands Meet, when all the Gods of Swarga do a Conference Ashariri to give updates on the progress and future plans of Swarga. Maharishi Sanaka, who was once an acolyte of Vyasa and is now a full fledged Maharishi with his own speciality department is monitoring the Meteorology portals for any signs of disruption.

“Maharshi Vyasaji, I think the addition of the new service provider has made a lot of difference. When it was just Vayu and Varuna we had lots of limitations, however with Agni we have better control of the resources,” Sanaka said.

While unloading his satchel and making himself comfortable on his tiger skin Vyasa said, “True, but we should still monitor what these Rishis are doing. The Devas who were once such menaces are so helpful nowadays, however Rishis are always trying for ways to subvert our controls. Especially the new batch of acolytes who have joined Swarga, some of them are too smart, we should keep a better eye.”

Just then Lord Vishnu walked in. He hailed Maharishi Sanatana, ” Sanatana, what is the status of the new Homa Kundas we ordered for the new Rishis? The Apsaras have confirmed that we have two Rishis joining this week and three more next week.”

Looking up harriedly from his own Homa Kunda where he was on a support call with the Homa Kunda manufacturer, Maharishi Sanatana, a member of Cosmic Infrastructure team but also the Purchase Rishi for Swarga, stood up and replied to the Lord Vishnu, “Prabho, we have raised the Purchase Order, I just need your approval before releasing the order to the manufacturer. Once the order is placed we should be able to get the new Homa Kundas by end of next week.”

“End of next week? Oh, that is too bad. Also what about the case for Homa Kundas?” Vishnu asked.

“Not to worry, Prabho. I shall send Sanandana to SP Road to get some cases. And in the meanwhile we have some Homa kundas as backup for the Deva Support team that we could give temporarily to the new joinee Rishis,” Sanatana said. Even Gods and Rishis get their stuff from SP Road.

“Okay, cool, cool,” Lord Vishnu said before walking away to Vaikunta.

“Maharishijee, we are recruiting so many Rishis nowadays. With all the new projects that are coming up here at Swarga and so much recruitment why dont we buy Homa Kundas and other Homa supplies in bulk?” Vyasa asked Sanatana.

“What to say, Vyasa jee, I think Swarga believes in Calvin’s principle of nothing inspires better than last minute panic,” Sanatana replied before hurrying back to the Support call. Peering into the flames of his Homa kunda Vyasa could already see prayers from countless other Rishis reaching out to Maharishi Sanatana for support.

As Vyasa grabbed his Kamandalu to get some Arishta from the cafetaria in walked Maharishi Vishwamitra, looking buff as usual. As the largest and most powerful of all Maharishis in Swarga, Vishwamitra intimidated even the Gods. Even Lord Shiva, a health freak amongst Gods was a bit intimidated in front of Rishi Vishwamitra.

“Aay Shapath!! What traffic we have nowadays here in heaven!! It took me two Yugas to reach here from my hermitage. Let me quickly grab some snacks before Durvasa comes asking me for more favors,” Vishwamitra was nowadays working more and more with Durvasa. While initially he was the Lead of Universal Observation Team of late Durvasa, banking on his years of experience had become Senior Brahmarshi. Despite his years of experience Durvasa often needed help from the much junior Maharishis for doing his work and the Maharishis obliged in respect of his venerable old age.

As Vyasa walked besides the Homa areas of Maharishini Gargi he could see Nandi setting up the paraphernalia for the Ashariri that was about to happen in a few more hours. While Shiva, Vishnu, Brahma were all here at Swarga, some of the newer Gods were still at the office in United States of Rakshasas. Over the yugas the number of Gods had risen considerably. From the initial duo of Shiva and Vishnu Brahma had joined their ranks. Indra, who was the Senior Manager of Deva Support Services was now the God of Support Services with a slew of projects under his Kamandalu. There now are some demi gods too, Surya here at Swarga itself, Ganesha and Kartikeya at USR working with Lord Shiva.

Somehow there are no female Gods in Swarga.

While getting his Arishta he could see the gods playing table tennis, Shiva and Vishnu on one side and Brahma and Surya on the other side. It was strange, all the gods are usually experts at playing this game. Taking care not to spill his Arishta Vyasa walked over to the where Gargi sits as the Conference Ashrariri started. The Ashariri was started by Menaka, the Leader of Apsaras and soon she made way for Ravana, one of the leaders of Lanka, a new client of Swarga. Vyasa felt his attention wandering as Ravana, with his ten heads was saying different motivational stories and Vyasa thought back to the day Ravana had come to Swarga for a client visit. Several Rishis and Rishinis had done special pujas of singing and dancing to entertain the visiting Asura and the music loving Ravana himself had sung a few songs. Shortly after Ravana the Gods of Swarga started speaking about the updates from their own domain. Lord Shiva, the Senior God of Business Development spoke about the various new clients and projects that have been acquired by Swarga, Lord Vishnu spoke of the various innovations done by the Rishis of Swarga, Lord Brahma spoke about the updates from the long standing clients like Patala and Naraka. Menaka later chimed in with announcements of various awards and updates of the Swarga, especially relating to the well being of the Rishis and Devas. One special update was that of introduction of tea and coffee made using actual milk in the cafeteria. The Apsaras and the management of Swarga were particularly proud of that.

Soon the Conference Ashariri concluded and the Rishis and Devas dispersed to their hermitages. Packing his satchel Vyasa too left for the day, now his only worry about how he would sleep at night seeing as he was struggling to stay awake during the Conference.

Supermodels are the world’s most exclusive models who have worked with the world’s top class designers and brands such as Versace, Alexander McQueen and has an extremely compelling portfolio too. To top on to that, supermodels are paid way higher compared to usual models and of course if the pay is good, the work increases too.

The term ‘supermodel’ refers to models who are renowned local and internationally for a certain period of time. They can be paid up to tens of thousands for a day of their hard work. Supermodels have a tendency to be more than simply lovely countenances fronting magazines and ruling the catwalks. They have identities and they are regarded for their ability as models, as well as for their capacity and accomplishment in making it into the select rundown of the top workers in the business. Supermodels rarely need to go for castings as designers and clients have already known them for years and guarantees that supermodels definitely can represent their product.

So what do one need to deserve the supermodel title? Having a gorgeous face of course one of it, but mainly includes one’s quirky uniqueness – birthmarks, gaped tooth, mole, wide eyed, skin condition and of course walk.

Let’s take a look on the few supermodels who breathe among us today,

1. Tyra Banks

Tyra is known for her huge forehead and the ability to change her styles of work for different shows. Not to mention her super fierce walk too.

2. Karlie Kloss

Miss Kloss is renowned for her great height (6ft2), extremely lanky toned legs and her brains! Model, fashion trend setter, baker and coder. How many girls do you know code?

3. Gisele Bundchen

This Brazilian beauty who’s the top highest paid model of all time is known for her high cheekbones and perfect measurements that every designer look for in a model.

4. Naomi Campbell

This gorgeous British black beauty who broke all walls against her kind was the first black woman to appear on the covers of French Vogue and Time. She’s known for her naturally fierce look and lengthy legs that helped her earn the supermodel title.

Moreover, it takes one model to strive hard for years to reach supermodel level. Supermodels like Giselle Bunndchen who holds the most expensive modeling contracts of all time, have every designer’s dream measurements that meet all high fashion requirements, photograph and moves like a goddess descended from the golden gates of heavens. Even if you have something really unique about you doesn’t mean you’re definitely able to receive the supermodel title, only a handful of top models come out as supermodels.

Certainly due to the tremendous high supply of models that are incoming into the fashion industry, demand for top quality models increases hence competitions spikes up along as well. Turning the modeling industry even competitive than before.

If you’ve that dream to come up as supermodel, go for it! A dream will forever remain as a dream if you don’t work for it. It’s not going to be easy, but thrive with determination and you might be part of that handful who comes up as supermodel in few years time.

Distractions are everywhere today, and quiet is hard to come by. It’s a fact of life in the 21st century.

We live in an age of constant connection, instant access and googling everything. And as wonderful as that can be, sometimes don’t you just feel besieged with task, choices, opportunities, and information?

The on-line marketing expert Connie Ragen Green once wrote: “Choose time every day that is designated just for you.” She then went on to specifically suggest that you find time for an hour of quiet contemplation and then an hour of productive writing.

While two one-hour blocks of time may be difficult to find each day, I enthusiastically support the general idea of setting aside time every day for quiet. And here’s why I say that:

• Self-care is the root of your successful time management. It replenishes your energy and sharpens your focus.
• It reinforces your sense of your own power. You are in charge of your time choices, and you always have choices, no matter what. This helps overcome stress and feelings of victimization that can accompany overwhelm.
• Giving yourself the gift of time for quiet and contemplation gets your creative ideas flowing like water from its well-spring.

BONUS TIP: As I mentioned above, finding two one-hour blocks of time in your day won’t always be possible — at least not for most of us. So, one thing I’ve found very helpful in my own life is to “think small.”

You might try looking at your time in 15-minute increments. That way you’re less likely to set aside an activity (like spending quiet time) by telling yourself you just don’t have enough hours in the day. You can nearly always find 10 or 15-minutes.

And you know what? You’ll be amazed at how thinking in these smaller time increments can change things for you. Chunking tasks down into smaller timeframes makes them that-much-more possible, whether it’s a self-care activity or something on your to-do list, Smaller steps make it easier to start, and you can’t get anywhere until you do start — so “thinking 15” is an excellent addition to your time toolbox!

How do you make time for quiet and contemplation in your life?

India is very famous for its temples. Thousands and thousands of temples built and maintained from time immemorial. The sculptures and the building techniques will speak itself the glory of the great tradition.

Madurai is situated at 462 kilometers south of Chennai (Madras as it was known in earlier times). The famous Meenakshi Amman Temple is located in the centre of the city. Inside the temple, there are famous halls like Marriage Hall, Thousand Pillar Hall etc.

The Thousand Pillar Hall is very famous for its beautiful construction.

The hall, even though called as thousand pillar hall, it has only 985 pillars. The pillars are erected in such a way as to fall in line from any angle we view..

In the year 1983, an expert team from audiology department went in to the hall and carried out an extensive study. They have used latest scientific gadgets and found that there is absolutely no echo in any part of the temple even with all the crowd around the sound level seldom exceed 80 dB (decibel)

Naturally the noise level in a quiet surrounding will be 40 dB, in a crowded street about 80-85 dB and at the airport when a jet aircraft takes off, it will be about 100 dB.

According to the team headed by Dr Kameswaran, an ENT specialist, there appears to be a built-in mechanism in the precincts of Madurai temple for containing the echo. The total noise does not exceed a specific level which would make it unpleasant to the visitors.

The temple is an acoustic marvel, observed the experts. Near the road there is one Ashta Shakti Hall. There the noise level is only 40 dB.

The team members said that with this ambient noise it is possible for a person to contemplate and meditate the Divinity.

Roughly about 5000 to 6000 people visit the temple daily. And the sound level recorded during the peak hours is of the order of 70 dB to 80 dB.

It implies that the artisans were aware of the basic principles of acoustics. The huge icons on the unpolished pillars, the distribution of vents, the allocation of open space all around, are all mechanisms to contain the noise level. The arrangements are so made that is not crude but there is an artistic planning combining utility with beauty. This arrangement strangely contrasts with arrangement made in certain modern buildings where instruments for breaking noise and absorbing sound are hung from the roof in a very clumsy and unartistic manner.

This hall is a classic example of perfect sound engineering technique. The average height of each pillar is about 12 feet. The pillars depicts four kinds of motifs, one consisting of moulded squares, the other with rampant dragon, the third with a figure of a deity and the fourth that of a donor or his family. The unpolished pillars of exactly of same size and shape are placed at mathematically accurate positions. These aspects have made the hall echo resistant.

In addition, the pillars are so peculiarly arranges that anyone sitting at a specific spot could view a central figure without any obstruction in any position. At any position inside the hall, in consequence to the arrangement of the pillars, there open up around us 16 colonnades of varying width and such length of each side that the perspective afforded by them is simply marvelous.

The expert team rightly described the thousand pillar hall as an acoustic marvel.

Thousands of such intricate wonders are hidden in these Indian temples.

Every so often it happens that one of the statues I make becomes damaged. It breaks in half or just loses a leg or another small piece. That is a nuisance of course. I made a beautiful statue and that should stay in one piece. Besides, once a statue is broken it is hard to sell it because it’s value has been decreased.

I might restore it. For instance when I really liked the statue myself and wanted to keep it for my own or when I know people still want to buy it regardless of the damage. I started to call it restoration instead of reparation ever since someone asked me to restore something. I carefully put all the pieces back together and the moment I realized it was whole again gave me such enjoyment it convinced me that in some cases reparation precedes discarding. Crummy work should be disposed of all the time. That is not worth wasting your time on.

For restorations I always use a white adhesive designed for wood. It is really strong and becomes transparent when it is dry. Now you should stick the two pieces exactly together the first try. Closely observe how they should be fixed towards each other. Some of the glue may be squeezed out but that doesn’t matter, you can easily remove that with a knife afterwards. Try to maintain the pieces in the same position while holding it together. When the small fringe of glue no longer draws back into the fissure you can put it aside to dry. If glue still bulges out, cut it away with a sharp knife. Don’t worry about missing fragments. You can easily make up a paste consisting of some crushed up ceramics of the right colour and a bit of glue. Either use the small blob of clay you sometimes find at the bottom of a statue or use whatever lies around that happens to have the desired colour. Preferably use the same material the statue was made of. Carefully wad this paste into the cavity. You may have to repeat this several times due to the glue shrinking when it dries. Make sure to resemble as much as possible the original coating of the statue using a spatula or a small knife. You could even use a crayon to color the wadded piece. You’re missing some shiny enamel? Clear nail polish works just as well! If the fracture is something small, like a tail of a leg, try to incorporate a thin piece of silk at the bottom. That will not show and adds a lot of extra strength.

If you are truly passionate about modeling and want to impress a modeling agency, the best way to do it is undoubted to submit the best photos. We reveal some important advice on photos model agencies are looking out for and some guidelines for you to follow.

Simplicity is not dullness

Contrary to what may be your instinctive idea, model agencies are not looking out for extraordinary photos or fancy clothes! This may actually work against you. Firstly, the agency might think you are an inflexible person who is only interested in a particular style of fashion and modeling. They may also perceive your effort as arrogance. Agencies are looking for fresh material they can mold and most importantly a humble person they can cooperate and work with. No agency wants to sign someone who they feel might be difficult to work in harmony with.

Therefore, always submit photos with simple clothes and minimal makeup. Solid, dark colors such as maroon and blue would prevent too much distraction and focus the attention on you, your body and facial features more in the photograph.

Avoid distraction

Avoid too much clutter and photo noise in the background. Your background should be as simple as it can be. Remember that model agencies are looking out for YOU and not anyone else, so only you should be in your photographs, and if all else fails, find a simple white wall, and use it as your background.

No edits

Modeling agencies are filled with staff and personnel who are photoshop gurus because of the nature of the industry. They will spot your edit on a photo from miles away. So don’t try your luck with Photoshop or any other software. No editing should be necessary for you to look good on a photo in any case. Moreover, if you do edit and get called for an interview, imagine the disappointment that you will be giving the agency on your first day itself. The best way is to go natural and be known for your authentic look and confident personality. A credible agency will have the creative brains to imagine you with the makeup and clothes of varying degrees and complexities without you physically wearing them.

Social media

If you are truly interested in modeling and want to dedicate your life to it, how you post on social media matters a lot too. Model agencies are usually online and digitally savvy to keep their agency relevant with the times. They are likely to do some background research on you if they are interested in you. That said; don’t be posting studio quality shots or photos online. Model agencies don’t want you to be portraying your social life like a professional job network. Post casual photographs and selfies that show that you can look good without putting in too much effort. Show that you know how to have a good time and have a vibrant personality.

So there you have it, the top qualities in photographs agencies are looking out for. Also, make sure you check the photo submission guidelines and ensure you meet them. Usually, agencies will need at least one face and one body shot, and might have other specific requirements too. Get a reliable friend or family member you know to take the photos for you. Submit clear, simple and well-taken photos, and you will surely have gotten your hands on the ticket into modeling!

We list things that a legitimate model agency does that make you feel uncomfortable but is actually beneficial for you in the long run.

Initial outlay

A model agency may ask for an initial outlay of money from you. Either they may ask you for portfolio fees or deduct a certain percentage of commission from your initial project fees, or even work at contracts. This may sound pretty demanding; however, it should not deter you if you have enough passion for excelling in the industry. The reason why a model agency extracts some initial cost from you is because they need to make up their costs of creating a portfolio for you and work required to set you up with clients. Working for free also gets you opportunities easier, for example, you can work with designers and photographers who want to create their own portfolio for free, and this allows you to gain modeling experiences as well. This makes it a mutually beneficial solution for all. The experience and portfolio you gather from the initial sacrifice of fees and payment will go a long way in getting more job opportunities.

Change your Looks to Suit Their Assignments

A model agency may ask you to do certain fashion makeovers such as changing your hair from blonde to brunette, or changing the length of your hair and so on. This is not because they don’t think you look good, but rather they usually want to fit you into the style of modeling that suits you best. For example, the agency may already have an excess of blondes, and they need a good brunette. There may be a few reasons why they ask you to change your look, but it is ultimately the best calling for your look and job opportunities in modeling. Anyway, a top class model is expected to be flexible and look good in any style or costume fitted. Hence, you should never be hesitant to change your look and style, and carry yourself with confidence in your new look.

Lose or Gain Weight

Again, although this may come off as a sensitive matter to you the industry is competitive and requires you to be at the top of your game to succeed. Even for non-mainstream modeling such as plus-size models, there are weight standards that need to be adhered to. In general, agencies have come to the point where they want to portray healthily-sized models. So they may outright reject you if you are too thin or too overweight. Hence, the key aspect to look after is your diet, your nutrition, and health. If you are doing the right things with your health your body will reciprocate naturally and your weight/ BMI would not be hard to control.

Traveling and International Opportunities

Most of us will be delighted at the sound of this, however, most of us do modeling as a ‘side hustle’ and few turn it into long-term fully fledged careers. The thought of traveling and working may sound too exhausting if you are not fully committed to the pursuit of modeling excellence. However, if you have the looks and ability the chances of working on International assignments are pretty high. Many people can only dream of such offers, so think twice before you reject them. And by the way it’s legitimate to receive the offers, and you should be given the liberty to accept or reject them.

Be open to all requests and demands but at the same time be cautious and do your research thoroughly before accepting or rejecting the offers. If you can establish that an agency is legitimate and has nurtured many models, it is likely that the demands they make of you are for your good and progress.