Knock-Knock! Its Winter

Dilli ki sardi is early. And not just early, its too early and hitting hard.
Its cold. Its raining. Its foggy. And its a working day!

Yesterday morning was quite a shocker, and today its colder. Woollens are not out yet. Didn't feel like getting up in the morning.

Thank God it is Friday today. At least over weekend I can enjoy the winter morning... I want moongfali

Weekend in Shimla

The last weekend in Shimla was all fun and excitement. Adesh was a part of Shimla Half Marathon and completed the run in under 3 hrs.

On Saturday, 3rd October, we reached Shimla at around 12pm and after checking into Hotel Holiday Home, we went straight to the race expo at The Ridge. And then, we set off to do a recce of the route that Adesh was to take next day. For me walking on that terrain itself was so exhausting, I was just wondering how the runners will complete their 21km. Thank God I had decided not to run and be a volunteer. I clicked photographs of the route during recce and on the race day. I was trying to live up to the role of the photographer assigned to me.

Adesh has shared his experience here.

And, when it was time to start the return journey, we were already exhausted. Nonetheless, we carried back with us fun filled sweet memories. Looking forward to the Diwali weekend round the corner!

Dot is Hot

I overheard the following conversation at an upmarket coffee shop last evening, among a group of youngsters:
"What's hot this season yaar?"
"Silly, didn't you know, it's the Dot?"

It took me a minute to register that the Dot being referred to is the election ink mark, and the conversation was referring to the Radio Mirchi campaign of "Dot hai to Hot hai".

It is great to see young college going citizens of our country being so excited about elections. It has become a matter of pride for them. And believe they do not want to see an octogenarian as our Prime Minister. I know I am treading the often discussed topic of why politicians do not have a retirement age, but then for the youth of this country, it is an important question.

Anyways, 7th May is approaching. Its the date for elections in Delhi. And then we will see a new fashion accessory- the hot Dot.

Travelogue: The Kikar Lodge

Last week, we planned a trip with office people to this place called The Kikar Lodge. I stumbled on this place through a travel website, as the area listed happened to be my Grandparent's place- Ropar in Punjab.

The website showcased a lovely resort with picturesque surroundings and some adventure sports, and we were game for it. As it turned out, this is a Welcome Heritage property.

The route we took was:
Delhi- Panipat- Ambala- Chandigarh- Ropar- Nurpur Bedi- The Kikar Lodge
Delhi to Ambala was through NH1, then on to Chandigarh through NH22 and to Ropar through NH 21. Just after Ropar barrage, turn right to Nurpur Bedi. Kikar lodge is about 27 kms from that turn. The best thing is that there is signage all through.


We started on 4th March morning at 5am from Delhi, and we were a group of 13 young (!!) ladies. As expected, we were fast asleep till about 8am, and the first pangs of hunger started hitting the stomach. By then we had already crossed all decent dhabas enroute, but we stopped near Kurukshetra at Sheetal Complex for tea. The road till Ropar is all good. Only when you enter the village area after Nurpur Bedi that it gets bumpy but its only a matter of 3 kms.




We reached The Kikar Lodge at 11.30am and the first reaction was shock!!! We entered the gate but we could only see trees and a kuchcha road. Another 2 minutes drive and we could see the resort emerging from behind the trees. Well it was like an oasis in desert! The decor was traditional Punjabi... Ah! my homeland. We were given cottages, and we could see the swimming pool. After a quick breakfast of sandwiches, some of the eager ones hit the pool while we soaked in the beautiful surroundings. Soon it was time for lunch and then a nap to freshen up.

The resort has a Spa and games like Billiards, Carrom, Table Tennis and Volley Ball. But the most exciting part was the Quad Biking and I was so much looking forward to it. At about 4pm some of my colleagues went into Spa for relaxing while I chose to hit the dirt and try my limbs at Quad Biking. At the first sight it looked so easy. After all I do know how to ride both a two wheeler and a four wheeler. But I didn't realise that a cross between the two could be so challenging. About 5 minutes of trying to get a hang of it and I was riding pretty good. Another 25 minutes and I was a pro!

Later we went for night safari in the jungle in a tractor trolley. I must say it was fun though a little spooky.

After a round of drinks around the bonfire and dinner we hit the bed. An early day and a late night had discharged our batteries.

Next morning, we left after breakfast and reached Delhi in the evening,.

Now, some description of the cottages. It was definitely good. The bed was comfy, loo was also clean and the decor was to my liking- Punjabi to the core, with traditional bedspread and a file folder with Phulkari cover. There was an LCD TV with Tata Sky connection in each room, plus AC.

Food at the resort was very good. We had opted for the buffet and were not disappointed. The service was also good and the stewards were very prompt. The bar (named Watering Hole) has a very cool decor. Two couches and walls adorned with old Hollywood movie posters.


I strongly recommend this place to all the adventure and nature lovers. Hit the road the next weekend and you will love it!

Its time to PARTY!!!

Its 30th of December of year 2008... and the hottest topic of discussion is, "Where are you going for the New Year Eve Party?" For all those like me who have not yet gone on year end vacation, its little difficult to choose from zillions of options available (not literally, of course). I went to a party on Saturday, 27th Dec and it was THE topic of every small talk.

Well, lets consider the options available.... going with friends or attend a do at any restaurant/ hotel. Even among friends, which groups of friends?

Hope to sort the dilemma over dinner with Adesh, else we will end up in front of the dear TV!

Manzil

I went to India Habitat Centre on Sunday with Adesh. It had been pretty long since we tasted Eatopia goodies and also wanted to check out a play by Vir Das, that was on. Unfortunately, we couldn't get the tickets for the play, but fortunately we witnessed the Annual Day of Manzil. We stumbled on it just by chance, actually more out of curiousity. While getting out of Eatopia we saw young guys and girls decorating the stage in the amphitheatre and it had a huge kite in the backdrop. That caught our attention. We waited for the event to start and eventually learnt about Manzil. Manzil is an informal school or learning centre, started by Ravi Gulati.

The function had children of all ages performing. And it was overwhelming to see the families of these children cheering them.

There was a short play, a band performance, solo songs and a performance by toddlers. There were 10 year old boys and girls dancing to the tunes of popular numbers, teenagers rocking the stage, and these can give reality dance show participants a run for their money!

By the time it ended, we were very much impressed, not just by the show put up, but also by the overall initiative of Ravi Gulati- Manzil.

Travelogue: Lansdowne and Rishikesh-II

After two days of rejuvenation in the calm and serene town of Lansdowne, we started for Rishikesh. We drove downhill to Kotdwar and then through Najibabad and the Rajaji National Park to reach Hardwar. From there we took the road to Badrinath, crossed the Rishikesh city and an uphill drive of 30 kms later, we reached our destination- Camp 5 Elements. It took us around 4 hrs to reach.

It is a camp on the beach of Ganges. From the road it looked so tiny. We had to trek down the hill to reach our camp. There was a suspension bridge over the river, and this swings when the wind blows! Our friends, Priyanka and Raghav were already there. This was my first time in any camp and the idea of living in a tent was very exciting. I must say that the camp staff was very friendly and hospitable. As soon as we reached, we hit the sand. Played volleyball, tried rock climbing and rappelling. Then just sat on the rocks with feet dangling in water. We even had a pebble throwing competition. This was like being back to childhood! There was another group of 5 people there who joined us for bon-fire and we exchanged anecdotes.

The most amusing part of the camp stay was the toilets. Each tent had shower and bathing place inside, but the dry toilets were all separate. They are all sand pits and the idea was quite repulsive. Anyways, next day we were gonna move out for rafting. The most exciting part of the entire trip.

We started next day after breakfast. There was a base camp for rafter around 5 minutes drive from our camp. We all had adrenaline running high. All strapped up in life jackets and after safety instructions we started our journey on the mighty Ganges. This was FUN!!! We crossed three rapids- Three Blind Mice, Black Money and Wall. We did body surfing which was akin to taking a holy dip in the holy Ganges. The professionals with us were encouraging all of us to jump in the water. They gave loads of instructions at all points of time, so that we enjoyed and we were safe. In all, a fun filled adventure, which we already planned to re-do next year.

After a tiring watery session we changed and headed towards Hardwar. The camp people had sent our car through a driver to our finish point. We stopped over at Hardwar for lunch. And then on the Sunday afternoon, we were headed back home via Rishikesh, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut and Ghaziabad to reach Delhi. The stretch of the road from Meerut to Ghaziabad was very bad and it took us very long to cover the short distance. We dropped Priyanka and Raghav at their home and headed for our abode in Gurgaon.

A fun filled trip of 4 days and 3 nights came to end. A lot of memories etched in our hearts. I recommend rafting in Rishikesh to everyone. It is a MUST-DO in your lifetime. By far, our best vacation. And, here I am already planning for the next one...

Travelogue: Lansdowne and Rishikesh-I

We went for a weekend trip to Lansdowne and Rishikesh. It was a four day trip from 2nd to 5th Oct. Lansdowne is the closest hill station from Delhi (250km approx). So, here is a brief account of our trip- Travelogue on Lansdowne and Rishikesh. This is the first part on Lansdowne.

We started on 2nd Oct morning at around 7.45am from Gurgaon. We crossed Delhi and hit Ghaziabad by 9.00 am. From there we took the road to Hardwar, we were supposed to go via Meerut but somehow took a wrong turn and hit Hapur. So, it was a detour of around 30km to Meerut. It was Id-ul Fitr and we could see a lot of men and young boys in white kurta- pyjama and skull caps going to Idgah and mosques. It was a holiday and we were able to avoid the morning traffic of school and office goers. From Meerut we took the road to Mawana (town famous for sugar). The National Highway 119 was in a pathetic condition, and in saying pathetic I am being very generous. There is a stretch of around 25-30km which is just stones and dirt. even a village road is betterthan this NH. Anyways, from Mawana we reached an upmarket dhaba- Monty Millions. This is the only decent eating place en- route Bijnor from Meerut. We reached there at around 11.30am. After having our Aloo Paranthas and Cold Coffee, we started our drive again. We crossed Bijnor, Najibabad and reached Kotdwar. Kotdwar is the entrance or dwar to the Garhwal region of the Himalayas. The view of the mountains from the city was so refreshing and encouraging. As soon as we hit the mountain area, the weather became so cool and refreshing. We stopped on the way for posing and clicking. There was tea stall in a hutment where the chaiwallah still cooks in coal fed stove.

We reached Lansdowne at around 3.00pm. It is atop a hill. The view from the hotel balcony (Blue Pine Resort) was awesome. Clouds floating outside, and then again sunny...

Lansdowne is a small, beautiful, picturesque hill station nestled in the Himalayas. It is in Garhwal region and home to Garhwal Rifles. Lansdowne is mostly Army area and is the regimental HQ for Garhwal Rifles. Everywhere you see jawans going up and down the roads. There are so many tracks in the hills for the ones with an adventurous spirit. We took the off-road path and trekked up for 3.5kms to reach the market place, through the Lansdowne Golf Course. After a tiring trek we had pakoras and tikki at Mayur Hotel. Diet plan gone for a toss!

The places to visit in Lansdowne are Army Museum, Bhulla Lake, Tiffin Top, St Mary's Church, St John's Church and the market place. There is a Shiv Mandir, around 35 kms from Lansdowne on another hill, Tarakeshwar Dham. The drive is very bumpy but its worth it. For the last 5 kms there was no road! But, by far the best place I have ever visited. So calm, serene, in the lap of nature with trees all around. It seemed like a scene out of a picture book. A must visit for everyone. Another interesting fact about Lansdowne is that there is no petrol pump. You have to drive downhill 45km to get petrol. So, we were mostly on foot. There are local taxis available for local sightseeing and they cost around Rs 400/-.

Our hotel, Blue Pine Resort, is supposedly the best out of three decent accommodations available. Though the food was not as we had expected, but still it was reasonable, considering that was our best option. After spending two nights at Lansdowne we started of towards Rishikesh. More of it in the next post.

Click here for photos

Jam, Jamming, Jammed!!!!!!!!!!!

Thats what you feel if you venture out on Delhi roads these days. Its raining hard and roads are the worst of worst state and its I- day approaching. So, bad, waterlogged roads now have police barricades.

Today morning while driving to office, the traffic was really slow and as I was chatting to Adesh, I told him I could sense that I am entering a jam. 15 minutes later I told him that I am jamming (already a part of slow moving traffic) and another 10 minutes I was jammed. Traffic was not moving at all. The span that I cover in 20 minutes on a normal day took me an hour and a half. Urghhh!! It is so irritating. And one of the RJs on Radio Mirchi summed it all, ' Aaj Saari dilli Jam hai'. How true! Kya hoga Dilli ka???

Paani Paani Re...

Thats what I was humming as I was driving to office. Its been raining cats and dogs every morning for the last few days. And the result, is more pot holes on much perforated roads. Plus the water logging. Aah, My Delhi!!! Though I am using Gulzar's song from Maachis in an entirely different context, but these were the first words that came to my mind when I saw the rain from the balcony. Leave aside the pot holes and water logging, I am just enjoying the weather. Oh , it so lovely! And, what a respite from the sweltering heat that had camped in Delhi. The weather man says it will continue only for a few more days and the heat will be back. But, for the moment Its raining...

Live Punjabi, Play Punjabi...

This is the anthem of Kings XI Punjab team. Whenever I hear this, I just start dancing. I am just so on to this song. And over the days I have realised, I support the team of my janambhoomi more than the Daredevils of my karambhoomi.

I just hope that Kings XI Punjab wins this season's IPL. And as Yuvraj says, Aaja Baee...

IPL- The Tamasha Begins

The much hyped and much awaited Cricket ka Karamyuddh, the Indian Premier League, starts today. It is being said that this will change the way cricket is played, forever.

Well, I am all for Kings XI Punjab, after all its the team of my janambhoomi, Punjab. But then, I also support the team of my karambhoomi, Delhi Daredevils.

Today, the first encounter is between my favorite cricketer's team, Rahul Dravid's team (Royal Challengers) and my favourite actor's team, Shah Rukh's team (Kolkata Knight Riders).

Oh! I am so confused. My loyalties are just shifting sides. I think for today's match I'll just sit in front of the TV screen and enjoy.

"My Delhi, I Care"

I really like this slogan of Delhi Government. It was coined to foster the involvement of people staying in Delhi with the Delhi city (or state). CM Shiela Dixit talks about this in a story which can be checked here.

Red FM has also stated a similar initiative, anchored by their RJ Nitin (my favorite!). He talks a lot about this in his morning show. Be it safety of women, bad roads and the recent one is the cleanliness drive. He has started going personally to clean the kurha-karkat in Delhi.

I think other states can learn a thing or two from the city. I have been in Mumbai, stayed there for almost an year. Never felt that anyone cares for the city, everyone cares for him/herself. The litter in the trains, along the roads, pathetic condition on roads are just few examples.

I, sometimes, consider myself as a confused Delhite. I hail from Punjab, studied in Delhi, worked here, moved out, returned back, got married and now working in Delhi but staying in Gurgaon. For an outsider I may still be staying in Dilli, as for them entire NCR is Dilli. But this does not mean I care less for Delhi. I have heard a few people say that it doesn't matter to them because they stay in Noida or Gurgaon or Faridabad, so they just don't care. Their place of stay is all they care, and just their society or colony or street. Is it a justified excuse? Definitely NO! Because I drive on Delhi roads, eat in Delhi restaurants, shop in Delhi markets, visit friends who stay in houses in Delhi, I feel responsible for the place. And, I damn very well care.

Indian Summer

It is mid of March and the Great Indian Summer is already making its presence felt. Can you belive it... its just third week of March... its Delhi... and the AC works on full blast during day. Global warming indeed!

Last Sunday, I had been for grocery shopping and was surprised to find watermelons and mangoes flooding the shelves.

Also, this weekend is Holi weekend. Its going to be so colourful. But this Holi holiday is a weekend getaway plan. And we are off to Corbett National Park. I am so much looking forward to it. A detail about the trip when I am back.

Till then, keep yourself protected from the heat.

Shop till you drop

Its festive season. And its wedding season. And above all its my wedding!!! All the reasons to Shop till I Drop. For the last few weeks I have been busy shopping, shopping and shopping. I have shopped in Punjab, I have shopped in Delhi and I have shopped in Gurgaon Malls. And most of the times, by the end of the day, all the fun goes out of it.

But I have learnt quite a few things. I can now distinguish between different types of crepes and silks... Jamawar, Brocade, Tusser, Tanchoi, Tissue, et al. But, so much colour and vibrance makes me colour blind at times. I am just not able to distinguish between different shades of pink or green or blue! Aha, and the jewellery!!! For myself, Ma, Grandma, In laws... Whosoever said 'Diamonds are a girl's best friends' was so true.

For me, it has been an excuse to indulge myself in the luxury of picking up things on impulse. Wow! And for once, Ma has not been after my life for the number of clothes and shoes and bags that I have.

As the weekend approaches, I am all geared up to go on a shopping spree. Yes, yet again!

Festivities are here...

Its the best time of the year for me, the season I love the most. With winters just around the corner and the weather become a little chilly... I like it!

First it was Eid. Then Dussehra, the festival celebrating the victory of Good over Evil was celebrated on Sunday. It was preceeded by Navratras. Hey it is the Festival Season... I had colleagues fasting for nine days and then the Dandiya nights.

Well well well Delhi is already celebrating. Malls lit up. Markets decorated. Gurgaon has swanky office buildings also decorated. Its a good feeling. And shopping in the midst of all... Wow!!!!!

Will post some pictures of the decorated city soon.

I am just waiting for Diwali to come...

Suhana Safar Aur Yeh Mausam Haseen...

This song from 1958 movie Madhumati is what came to my mind today morning, as I was driving to work.

Early morning in September end. The air is a little chilly, reminding that winters are going to 'knock-knock' soon. And then it starts drizzling. The effect is awesome. I just love this weather, though it gives me cough and cold every year!

But as soon as I get going on the road, the effect had changed to impact. Even a snail could move faster than the traffic en-route my office. The safar is not that suhana! The only company I have is the FM radio in my car, with Khurafati Nitin playing his pranks on callers on 93.5 Red FM. And as the chartbusters are played one after the other, I too hum along. Yeah... Bajaate Raho!!!

Only change is constant

Its again been a long gap since my last post. Well well, my coordinates have changed again. And I think this is a good enough excuse. Actually, not really.

I have moved to Delhi and changed organization as well. So, was busy travelling and settling down. All I can say now is 'once a Delhite, always a Delhite', at least I can afford to say this for the moment.


The resolution is back again... to improve frequency of posts. Hope I keep upto the targets!