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Urby’s Limited Edition Passport Holders – A Traveller’s Delight
Be it hectic work trips or leisure travel on holidays or an unprecedented love to explore – TRAVEL has become a part and parcel of our daily lives. With increase in transport accessibility and better opportunities, people are almost always on-the-fly (quite literally!). And to make the travel hassle-free, we are always in the need of good travel accessories. So today, I present to you one such option for PREMIUM QUALITY travel accessories (passport holders, wallets, card holders etc), at decent affordable prices. I recently partnered with URBY – An upcoming brand for premium quality travel accessories. Their products range from travel utilities like bags, wallets, passport holders, toiletry bags,…
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The grandeur of Chhath Puja at Dhanbad
Since the ‘Garib Rath’ direct route from Bhubaneswar to Dhanbad has been cancelled now (courtesy – the Jharia CoalField fires), we had to first take a train to Kolkata and then run for our lives to board another train to Dhanbad from a different railway platform. We were almost on the verge of missing this train due to overlapping timelines of our Indian railways. Perhaps, this thrill set the mood for my journey to Dhanbad – the Coal Capital of India! Travelling for the second-time after marriage to my husband’s city, was already giving me goosebumps. Once we reached the Dhanbad railway station, we decided to take an auto-rickshaw to…
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The Day I Met GOD Himself – A.R. Rahman
A.R. RAHMAN – This name needs no introduction. Being a 90’s kid, I have grown up grooving to the tunes of Roja, Bombay, Rangeela, Dil Se, Taal and what not! This man had started carving his niche amidst the cacophony of raging music directors in the country, right from those times. His music has always been mellifluous – it’s just DIFFERENT, it’s MAGICAL. I remember observing him keenly on television, in any of his public gatherings or interviews. He was always a man of few words. He was extremely humble, down-to-earth and exuded oodles of simplicity from that heavenly persona of his. He still is, a man of few words.…
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The melodious Pankaj Udhas Live In Concert “Madhosh” in Austin, TX
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A Narrow Escape from Perverts Around Me – #MeToo
Born and brought up in a country like ours, sexual harassment in various forms is considered to be pretty usual in our daily lives. This marks the first impression about the sorry state of affairs in our nation. Sexual exploitation in any form, leaves an indelible mark on the soul of the concerned person – be it male/female. And a casual approach towards the frequency of such incidents, is alarming indeed. Somewhere, something is definitely going wrong! I clearly remember a vivid incident from my childhood, when I was hardly 11-12 years old. I was sent by my mother to the nearest grocery store to grab a packet of bread, when…
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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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“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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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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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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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…
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The Ugly Truth of Dowry in India today
While going through the government’s initiatives for women empowerment in recent times, I stumbled across few thought-provoking ads which deliver powerful messages against the age-old practice of dowry in Indian marriages. The messages were loud and clear – “Say NO to dowry.” Dowry system in India refers to any form of movable goods, property or cash that the bride’s family gives to the bridegroom’s family, as one of the pre-requisites for marriage. Considering the nagging societal pressures and crimes regarding dowry, I decided to delve deep into the history of dowry system in India. I strongly believe that the history of this culture-rich country has been distorted time and again to…
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19 Things People Say When You are Lean ~ The Saga of “BEING THIN”
Having been slightly underweight almost all my life, I have come across a volley of sarcastic comments, concerned advice, unwelcome suggestions and what not for committing a crime of sorts – the crime of “being THIN”. We are a nation where food is given utmost importance (which is great), resulting in a wide variety of cuisine available to be explored in a single country. Consequently, being thin in this country is almost treated as a crime. People will not bother if you are healthy (literally) or have never suffered from any ailments in your lifetime. The moment you come in their range of vision, they just have to blurt out…
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An experience on Bakul’s Day of Service : A Day dedicated to Humanity
Surfing through my WhatsApp messages last night, I came across a message in my WhatsApp group : DOS – 2017 (Patia Region). It was a notification from a fellow Bakul member stating that the first Bakul Day of Service for 2018 was scheduled on March 25, 2018 (held on last Sunday of March) and anybody could volunteer. This brought back a plethora of memories from the last Day of Service that I attended in Bhubaneswar, during the Joy of Giving Week on October 2, 2017. For a beginner’s information, the day of service (DOS) is celebrated across India and worldwide to promote the spirit of social service and provide a…
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Tryst with nature at HIMACHAL
Himachal Pradesh – Indeed a land of the Gods! The desire to catch a glimpse of live snowfall, first sparked my interest to travel to the mighty Himalayas, fighting all the odds of a chilly December winter. And with my first wedding anniversary round the corner, the deal was sealed! Having booked travel just to and from Delhi, we were headed on a trip of uncertainties marked with random travel and accommodation bookings only on the fly. Travelling in a Volvo bus from Delhi, we first halted at the Pahalwan dhaba in Haryana on the way to Manali. Yes, this food junction did not resemble even an inch of a typical dhaba! I…
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The Rainbow Experience in India
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The quintessential cultural city – MYSURU
Mysore, officially renamed as Mysuru, is often described as the ‘Cultural Capital of the state of Karnataka’. Boarded on a special train from my hometown Cuttack to Mysuru, my first job took me to this enchanting city in South India. This train was specifically operating to cater to the increased public travel during the auspicious Durga Puja. I was accompanied by a group of friends, from the same college and we were all headed to attend a 6-month long training at Infosys Mysore DC. Our eyes were brimming with excitement, as we first stepped down at the Mysuru railway station. Probably, it was the excitement of a first job, mixed with the…
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My favourite city of dreams – MUMBAI
Firstly, let me mention that there are millions out there, who still love to address this city as ‘Bombay’ (I’m definitely one of them!). But herein, just to be technically correct with the official city name, we’ll refer to it as Mumbai ~ Amchi Mumbai! Straight out of the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, my first encounter with the spirit of Mumbai was when I took a cab to the railway station. My cab driver was a lady, full of life and an equally competent Mumbai-style driver. The most amazing aspect was the way she interacted, with almost every passerby at every traffic junction. They knew each other and she was…
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What I learnt about Time Management from Mumbai
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A fun-filled bachelorette at GOA
GOA – rightly called the “Holiday Capital” of India! A group of old friends from different parts of the country, a bachelorette party – dedicated to a very special friend, mellifluous music, the typical beach repertoire, bikes, extraordinary cuisine and a perfect end to the trip within the serene confines of the magnificent churches. This sums up my first experience called “Goa” in a nutshell. Travelling from Mumbai to Goa, we reached the Mudgaon station way past midnight, had piping hot tea to activate our drowsy cells and were all set to experience the extravaganza called “Goa”! Heading towards the Ancora Beach Resort (where we put up for a formality I would…
