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WANDER BIRD listed in “Top 100 Indian Travel Blogs 2019”
How do I describe how I feel today? No matter what I write, it will not do justice to how I exactly feel. Wander Bird finally makes a grand entry to a list of Top 100 Indian Travel Blogs by Feedspot. That moment, when I received an email stating the same, was indeed magical. It was a cloudy morning and I had just settled down in front of my laptop, with my cup of piping hot herbal tea. Before getting down to serious blog-related work, I decided to take a quick look at the status of my Amazon order. I was eagerly waiting for the Indian Tricolour to arrive. It was…
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Things To Know Before You Visit Statue of Liberty, New York
As part of a tightly-scheduled itinerary for New York, we were almost weary and tired on the last day of our trip to New York. But, no visit to New York is ever complete, without catching a glimpse of the Lady – the Statue of Liberty! So, we got ready early in the morning, quickly hopped into the Subway and reached Bowling Green Subway station – one of the closest stations to the Ferry terminal. It was a sunny Tuesday morning and and I had never imagined that there would be so many visitors to this place on a tourist off-season and working day. This clearly explains the world-class charm…
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HUMANITY First – Kerala Will Rise Above Hate-mongers!
Monsoons have always been eagerly awaited in India, since the Indian Monsoon plays a major role in turning large parts of India from semi-deserts to green lands. It is a symbol of joy and celebration, especially amongst farmers. They wait patiently throughout the year, just for the monsoons to arrive and help them grow crops at their best. Who could fathom that this joy would be diminished in India this year? Little did we know that this year, the same Monsoons would wreak havoc in God’s own country – Kerala. Around August 10-11, I noticed Twitter trends highlighting about Kerala floods, which had reached alarming levels. Several parts of Kerala…
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Top 15 Must-Visit Places in Vietnam
Vietnam has emerged as one of the most exciting tourist destinations of South East Asia in recent times. After continuous conflicts and war situations in the country, the government of Vietnam initiated a series of economic and political reforms. This marked the beginning of Vietnam’s journey towards integration into the world economy. Since 2000, the economic growth rate of Vietnam has been among the highest in the world. Gradually, this beautiful country has evolved and now become a hotspot for beach lovers, food enthusiasts and adventure seekers. Before we delve deep into the pristine beauty and cultural complexities of Vietnam, I have a major announcement to make. Best Offer on…
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“A Heart’s First Flutter” – An Ode to that uncanny vibe of LOVE
Disclaimer : Please note that I have never been a poet and hardly have any poetic flair. This particular post is a consequence of relentless encouragement from a woman of substance, who kept prodding me to pursue writing from my heart. We have never been close friends and were introduced on rather strange circumstances at some point in our lives. Our relationship from that day to today, has come a long way. Today, I look up to her as a major inspiration and influence in my life. And ofcourse, this post is dedicated to the man who has been my rock-solid anchor in life. I could not have asked for…
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“An Unplanned Pregnancy Changed My Life Forever” – An Honest Confession of a Young Working Woman
In the cacophony of a busy day, my phone blinked with a message – “I have some news for you.” And before I could even think of guessing, there was another message in my inbox. It stated – “I am expecting.” I was thrilled. I was actually feeling ecstatic, rather even that would be an understatement. The message was from an old colleague from work, with whom I had not even chatted for more than a year maybe. Even if we are not the closest of friends, she was always like a constant travel-buddy in all my trips. She would always be my travel roommate and secretly, I was quite…
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New York ~ A Perfect 5-Day Travel Itinerary for First-Timers
New York City, often termed as the “Fashion Capital of the World”, is a must-visit in the United States of America. Now, that you are reading this post, I assume that you belong to one of the following categories – You are planning a trip to New York soon. You are interested to know about my trip details, which might inspire you to travel to New York soon. You are a dear friend, who is looking to relive my memories and happiness, by going through my travel posts. You are my favourite group of blogging critics, who help me improve more and more with your constant suggestions. Welcome aboard! I…
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LOVE CYCLES, FEAR CYCLES – A Complete (Work)Book for All Couples
One fine evening, I was working on a writing assignment when I got a notification on my social media account. A lady was looking for volunteers to review a book named “Love Cycles, Fear Cycles”. It had been quite a long while since I’d read a book then. So, even though I have never been an avid reader of relationship-based books, I decided to give it a shot. And there it was! Within a span of two weeks, the complimentary copy was delivered to my home in Texas, USA. First Look I would like to make a special mention about the way my anticipation for this book was build up.…
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IPC 498A – Does it actually protect women or is it a choking noose for innocent men?
DOWRY – a social menace which compels the bride’s family to pay a specific amount in cash or goods to the bridegroom’s family (considered as a ‘norm’ of an Indian wedding), is practised in many parts of India even today. BUT what’s even worse is the reckless misuse of the law which was initially formed to curb exploitation in the name of dowry. Undoubtedly, dowry still remains an ugly truth of India today. But, fake dowry harassment cases depict an even uglier and lurking reality of the Indian society. True Story Recently, after posting an extensive article on the actual history of the dowry system, I was going through the…
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Delectable Dishes Galore At The Texas Food Truck Showdown 2018
Before moving to Austin, I had read and heard a lot about the food culture in Texas and was quite eager to set out on a food adventure in Texas. As luck would have it, the Texas Food Truck Showdown 2018, was scheduled on March 17, 2018. This seemed like a perfect timing (right after I reached in Austin) and before I even realised, I was ready with my “Mission Food” in Texas. Though I was never a voracious eater, I have always been fond of nibbling at a wide variety of dishes in small portions. Here, there was food and drinks galore, with a typical carnival-like feel – just…
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Sunshine Blogger Award 2018 – First Milestone for Wander Bird
Yippee! I just got the much needed motivation to keep flying and reaching new heights!! I feel ecstatic to announce that Wander Bird got nominated for the “Sunshine Blogger Award 2018”. What a day to cherish! It was a usual Monday morning and I was busy checking my emails and listing down my tasks for the day. Then suddenly, I got my most exciting notification of recent times on Facebook. My blog had been selected for the Sunshine Blogger Award 2018 by Traveleidoscope – one of my favourite travel blogs. This blog is authored by Tina Will, and undoubtedly, one of the most fascinating travel blogs I’ve come across in…
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Palur Chronicles : “First Day Jitters at Palur Hills”
11 years gone, and still counting! The first day jitters still remain the same. As I sit down today reminiscing about the good old engineering days, all the memories seem to brush past like a whiff of fresh air. It seems like yesterday, when we had first stepped into the magnificent campus of our engineering college at Palur Hills. Boarded on bright yellow college buses, we noticed the sprawling campus from the national highway. This was going to be our second home, for the next 4 years of our lifetime. Since the college was situated in the outskirts of the city, the most feasible means of transport was college bus.…
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Palur Chronicles : “My valedictory to 4 precious years of a lifetime”
“Contemplating about the past 4 years spent in these lush green locales of Palur Hills, we seem to have attained a very peculiar state – a placid persona ready to forgive and forget. The ambience here has definitely nurtured every individual to become the human being that they are.” I penned down these above lines way back in the summer. Sitting on the staircase of the topmost floor, probably waiting for someone, gazing away into the greenery around, the unending sky, I was in a different world altogether – a world of my thoughts, my world of contemplation. Just couldn’t muster enough courage to complete what I’d started. Hearts were…
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The Day I Fell in Love with America!
I always had a personal vendetta of sorts with America, since I was on a long-distance relationship with my then-boyfriend (now, husband) for about 3 years when he was working in USA. The cause for our separation (read : America) naturally made me detest the place to the core. However trivial it might sound, that was the only reason for my repulsion to America. While people all over the world craved to materialise their American dream, I hardly ever gave it a thought! Meanwhile, I travelled to different countries and even stayed in one of them for about a year. Perhaps, the travel during that time, gave me a lot…
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Public Opinion – Yes, We Are A Country Obsessed With BODY WEIGHT!
This is a sequel to the last post in the Social and Lifestyle segment of WANDER BIRD – “19 Things People Say When You Are Lean ~ The Saga of Being Thin”. This has been the most popular post so far, with thin people exactly relating to each point mentioned in this article. Rather, they even sent me few more hilarious comments which they’ve personally experienced for being lean. Even if I plan to put all the new details in a fresh post, the list will be unending. This made me realise, how casually people have normalised an abnormal behaviour of taunting or nagging someone constantly for his/her body weight.…
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Why Did Dowry Ever Come Into Existence in India – High Time for a Reality Check?
The dowry system in India has been blindly followed since ages and I have always found it extremely absurd. Detesting this evil practice to the core, I decided to dig deep into the actual history of the dowry system in India. How did such an evil-practice ever come into existence? Did our ancestors actually have such a backward thinking? The answer is – NO. Earlier, dowry was nowhere described as a mandate for the groom to make demands on the girl’s family. Inspite of this practice being so obsolete, regressive and a significant reason for a higher crime rate in today’s times, people in many parts of India are still following…
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Justice for Asifa : Can Rape Ever Be Justified?
I begin writing about this ghastly incident, with a very heavy heart. Yesterday, my day started with a Facebook post shared by a friend which read – “The Gory Details of the Khatua gang-rape shows that the India we live in is NOT really shining.” Going through the gruesome details mentioned in the post, I drew a deep shuddering breath. The grim news of the gang-rape and murder of an 8 year-old girl was described with such horrific details that the basic faith on humanity inside me, actually made me question the article – “Is this news authentic?” The details mentioned in the post, seemed too heinous to be true.…
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Soul Cleansing at PONDICHERRY
“A Dream ~ There should be somewhere on earth, a place which no nation could claim as its own, where all human beings of goodwill who have a sincere aspiration, could live freely as citizens of the world and obey one single authority, that of the supreme truth; a place of peace, concord and harmony.” This perfectly summarises my experience called ‘Pondicherry’ in a nutshell. Fiddling with Google Maps on the location of Hotel South Avenue, I walked straight out of the Pondicherry railway station, amused at how it was showing a total transit time of just 1 minute to reach my destination hotel. And there it was – right…
