Night Out in Mumbai

I had a great night out tonight. First stop was the IMAX Dome for a movie, followed by 2 ice tea and paneer kebab. Then a drive around to reach our favourite hangout place for dinner. A Cosmopolitan, some Risotto Siciliano and some talk and laughter at the Pizza by the Bay followed.

Then some dessert.

Then a walk on the Marine Drive. Here is a pic of the necklace of Necklace Road, Mumbai, India.

The night is still young and the journey continues... 

the other song

What was your immediate thought when you read the name of this blog? Chances are, you thought or assumed that this blog would be on a particular song, right? Interestingly, it isn't. It's about an international institute of Homoeopathy. Yes, obviously it is different - and that is the reason it finds a  place in my blog.

My best buddy visited this institute and insisted that I must go too for any problem I think I have. I took his advice. I went to visit the institute by taking prior appointment with a specialist Homoeopathic doctor. ...and yes, it has touched me just the way a different song would touch or grab my attention. It indeed was like... the other song.

It was a Monday morning. I took a bath and got ready for my early morning appointment. On reaching the building of the International Academy of Advanced Homoeopathy, I headed towards the elevators to go to the suggested floor. But a group of 12 girls from a foreign country, a boy and an elderly lady were already in wait.. So, I waited for them to take the lifts first and took the next one.

After the initial formality, I waited to be called by the doctors. While taking this appointment, I was given a questionnaire to be answered at home. I gave back the filled up questionnaire today. I assumed they were reading it. Meanwhile, I saw a tiny bookshelf in the waiting area and it evoked my curiosity. A little browsing later, I picked up a book on acupressure and whoa, was it interesting or what! Such amazing case studies and pressure points! I noted down a few. Wish I could borrow the book or get a copy! Minutes later, I was called for. I went to the chamber and the interrogation began. It started with a very simple, "Tell us about yourself" routine. I obviously won't/can't and shouldn't reveal what happened inside, but in general, it was all about me.

After an hour and half it was over. I came out of the chamber wondering what would be my next to do. I was given some medicine and I returned home. As advised, I took one dose of a powdered medicine and by the time I reached home, I felt absolutely calm. It felt as if, all my anxieties were gone and nothing else mattered in the whole wide world. It was a different experience.

Later I came to know that the girls in the elevators were all trainees and students from Russia who were studying advanced homoeopathy in the institute. There was a reason why the questions were so detailed. The experts believe that the cause of your health concern is in the details. The reason you are allowed to speak is to help you let go of thoughts that were bugging you. Overall, it was an experience to ponder upon. I didn't have any physical problem as such. I just wanted to experience that consultation as it was highly praised and recommended. I am glad I did.

Now, for some, Homoeopathy equals humbugpathy. For me, it is good if it works for you and it isn’t if it doesn’t work for you. I have seen many people going to Homoeopathy even before contemplating visiting a general physician. For most of them, Homoeopathy itself worked. I have seen parents of new born babies going to Homoeopathy first thinking it is the safest bet for the child. But when there are advocates ridiculing Homoeopathy, their logic also makes me rethink the entire belief system on Homoeopathy. Recently, I asked a doctor friend of mine what was his take on Homoeopathy. He said people should avoid it like the plague. His logic was, to study medical they take years of rigorous studies and practice, whereas a Homoeopathy course can be done through distance education. So, it is not to be even considered for treating anything. I couldn’t agree more. But what happens to all those examples in front of me where Homoeopathy actually worked better. I think this conflict inside me will go on till someone from both the fields of treatments come together and argue in front of me. Till then, with the contentment of that experience in “the other song”, I rest my case.

Gauri Khan - The first lady of Bollywood

How different can the family of a superstar be? Well, I had no clue. Although, not much of a star gazer, post my shifting to Mumbai, I have seen and happened to travel in the same flight as many celebrities. 

One flight, the one I took on March 3 this year, was different in many ways. I was flying Business Class from New Delhi to Mumbai in a Jet Airways international service craft. While boarding, I saw the poet and lyricist Javed Akhtar walking aboard the flight. A celebrity boarding a Mumbai bound flight is not a big deal. It happens all the time. But it was different today. Read on... (You may add your comments here.)

Love at first sight - Australia

Sydney Opera House

Yes, I know it’s been a few days already and it’s high time I wrote about my trip to Down Under. Many of my blog readers, who are also some of my great friends, are shouting at me for not writing about my trip to Australia yet.

The road in Kangaroo Island

The reason I wasn't posting anything was just one - my confusion on where to start! When the heart is full words are few and my trip of 20 days in OZ has definitely filled my heart. More so, because we went on a well-researched trip (by my partner) minus any annoying tour agent who treats you like a herd of animals.

There cannot be a better teacher than travel itself. Traveling has enriched my life in many ways. However, this 20 days’ vacation trip to Australia has changed me as a person. In many ways, my priorities have changed. Australia has taught me how to celebrate life and celebrate being alive.

Somewhere with the guiding light

This trip to Down Under will always remain as one of my most cherished trips - also because, I have done some of the things for the first time in my life here. This has helped me tick off a few of the “to dos” from my “must do before I die” list. These include celebrating New Year Eve at Sydney Harbour, seeing Uluru, helicopter ride, taking a cruise in the Pacific Ocean and snorkelling.

Our journey started on December 31, 2011 in Sydney. New Year Eves have always been very important for me. Call me “typical” but I do believe that if you start the year well, it will go well. I was getting tired of the usual good food for dinner, some TV and bursting of crackers at midnight routine for last few years. 2012 had to be different. We wanted to go somewhere. After considering a few options, we decided to welcome the New Year by going to the New Year (read: to welcome it before it actually reaches our country) in Sydney.

The crowd at Sydney Harbour

Australia was always a mystery for me, a country that is so far away from the rest of the world and we knew so little about it, except the unbelievably strong cricket team, Uluru and kangaroos! The moment I landed in Sydney, it was a series of surprises for me. Being a country in the Southern Hemisphere, it was to be hot as hell there in December and we were prepared for the summer in OZ. But to our surprise, it was cooler than the winter in Mumbai. Thankfully we had “just in case” jackets with us and we were saved. Even though we took a thirteen hours halt in Singapore, the eight hours flight to Sydney took a toll on us. We wanted to go to the hotel and take a nap so that the body clock gets confused (or cheated) to adjust to the new time zone we were in. Moreover, we had a ballroom cruise to take on the Sydney Harbour that evening to celebrate the New Year Eve. 

Happy New Year! ;)

We had reservation at Hotel Radisson Blu in Sydney. So from the airport, we headed to the hotel and slept for some time. As the suggested cruise boarding time approached, we got ready for the evening and went to the Kingston Wharf to board the Majestic Cruise Line. The crowd, the atmosphere at the wharf and the enthusiasm of the people, especially those who were reserving seats at the bank since 12 noon were absolutely overwhelming. A little effort later, we found our ship and boarded the cruise of a lifetime!

What a great way to start the 2012! I couldn’t have asked for more!

(Click here for the next Sydney story…) 

Lunar Eclipse

Following are some of the pictures I shot today (Dec 10, 2011), during the awesome Lunar Eclipse. The view was phenomenal!

Half covered

Almost fully covered 

Clearing up

What's trending?

 

:)

In an ‘aha moment’, during my evening walk yesterday, I realized how we all have something trending in a particular period of our life. Yes, just like the trending feature of twitter. I know you are smiling after reading this first line. But think about it. It is so true! Just ask yourself, what’s trending in your life now? Unless you are laughing at my thought, I am sure you will come out with some trending topics/hash tags that can be termed as trending in your life at this point of time. It can be anything, absolutely anything; the only criteria being, it has to be something that is occupying your mind space for quite some time now.

Trending on twitter today

I asked the question to myself and guess what, I have figured out my current trending topics/hash tags in life. Those are — deadline, December magazine, the new cook, evening walk etc. I may be sounding crazy for some of you who have no idea about what’s trending on twitter or twitter itself. But I was amazed to find out my trends. Then I flash-backed to the time when we shifted to Mumbai and I realized and recalled that my trending topics were absolutely different at that time. Shifting, movers and packers, SristirRamdhenu, Bohagi Bidai were some of the trending topics of my life during that phase of life and I was completely engrossed in these. Whoa! Life!

So, what did I learn from it? To be honest, it relieved a huge weight off of my shoulder. Why? Because I have realized (again) that life moves on and everything, good or bad, is just a phase, a matter of time. Eventually everything moves on. People do too. It’s a good thing. Relieving because you don’t remain stuck in the same situation for life. It changes. Change is good.

An evening at Orchard Road, Singapore

Mustafa

“This is the first and last time I am here and that is final,” I told myself. Everyone, whoever learnt that I was going to Singapore, asked me to visit Little India, as it is a must visit place in Singapore. Well, I noted the point and decided to visit Little India before I proceeded to Orchard Road. But, the moment I landed my feet on the streets of Little India, I was disappointed. I got down just in front of Mustafa, the so-called biggest shopping centre in Singapore. I never expected it to be so chaotic. Gawd! Little India is crowded, hot and humid with blaring loudspeakers selling almost everything on earth! To the right of Mustafa Mall, (Mall? Huh!) there was an alley filled with tired people sitting with their shopping bags. At a distance of two feet, garbage bins were overflowing with people walking alongside the garbage bins. I walked through the area a little and thought, since I was there already, I could as well check out the store/mall! I entered and suddenly realised that it was nothing but a few ‘Big Bazaars’ put together. I also realised how big a queue I would have to face to pay if I bought something. The thought was creepy and I came out immediately. 

Bangladeshi campaign

South Indian restaurants, saloons, temples and hardware stores were all in the same lane just opposite the Mustafa centre. The area felt like any other thickly crowded Indian market. Can we seriously do something about this population explosion in India? Why are there so many of us?! Well, the place also had a large number of Bangladeshis doing their business announcing rebates in Bangla on the now omnipresent loud speakers.

To catch a cab and run away from Little India proved to be an effort in itself. There was a huge queue for taxis, quite predictably, as I realised no taxi was willing to stop there. After waiting for about ten odd minutes in the queue, I realised that there was no point wasting further time in the queue. I walked towards the left of the road where there was a junction and waited there for any car with a "Taxi" sign on top. A taxi came towards me and the old driver asked me if I had called for a taxi. I denied, as I didn't call for any. He nodded, as if he said, “Yes, lets go”. I asked him if he would go to Orchard Road. He nodded again. Without uttering a single word I got into the cab and said ok let's go to Orchard Plaza. I saw him pressing some buttons on his monitor and saw the display saying, "Call fulfilled successfully". Well, I did feel a little guilty for not clearing his confusion, but I had to get out of that place then. I also consoled my guilt, thinking, may be these confusions are not uncommon and they would understand. :)

Orchard Road (available parking lots on display)

On both sides of the Orchard Road, there were several shopping malls and swanky branded outlets making it one of the hottest shopping areas in Singapore's map. The taxi dropped me at the dropping zone of Lucky Plaza.

Well, before I forget, let me share with you, one of the most important reasons of my going to Orchard Road. I had to look for a particular sun screen hat that I saw some girls wearing in the Hippo Bus. The hats were so cool, as they not only protected the entire face from the harsh rays of the sun, but also had UV Protector Film on the shades. I enquired those girls who were wearing those hats, regarding those hats and asked them where I could buy those. They told me to go to OG Departmental Store on Orchard Road.

So, I had to look for the OG DS. First I entered Lucky Plaza and enquired the security personnel if they knew where OG DS was! He told me to walk straight leaving Lucky Plaza on my left. I did just that. Suddenly there were more branded stores and no OG in sight. A few boys were withdrawing money from a cash machine.  I went to the ATM and asked the boys if they can guide me the way to OG DS. They told me it was at the end of Centre Point, another multi-storeyed mall. I thanked them and continued my OG DS search. I walk past four malls and finally found OG and said to myself, "There you are!"

(: OG :)

Girls and new shoes have an inexplicable connection. On the ground floor of OG, I saw a variety of shoes apart from cosmetics. “I have already purchased two pairs of shoes at the Peninsula mall and I must not buy more,” I told myself. Focusing on why I was in OG at the first place, I enquired with the cashier about the sunscreen hats. She asked me to go to the second floor. I enquired there again. The second floor sent me to the third floor and I found those hats waiting there for me. I carefully picked-up four. While paying, the cashier asked me if I had membership of their shop! I said, I didn't, as I was a tourist. She suggested, in that case, I must go to the fourth floor to get a slip with which I can get eight per cent refund on my purchases in the airport as a tourist. I ended up visiting all the floors OG had and yes, it was a pleasant experience.

Evening was setting in and the almost deafening commotion of nest bound birds on the Orchard Road was making the atmosphere very appealing. I completed my purchases and wanted to be in the Orchard Road area a little longer. So, I entered a roadside cafeteria called the The Connoisseur Concerto a.k.a. tcc and ordered some iced lemon tea and a chocolate confession. While sitting there enjoying my drink and confection, I observed the happenings around me, on and across the street apart from the cafeteria itself.

tcc

Suddenly there was a big sound. Bang! I looked towards the direction of the sound and saw there was an accident. A biker was hit by a SUV. But, look at the beauty of this chaos. If it was in India, both the men would have shouted at each other trying to blame each other etc. But here, the gentleman in the SUV came out of his vehicle and helped the biker collect his things and helped him settle down by the roadside. Then the gentleman came back to his vehicle, rubbed the dent his car had got and went to the biker again who was taking care of his bike and helmet. The SUV man suggested the biker to squeeze and release his palm just to see if it hurts somewhere. Both waited, talked and cordially said good bye to each other and gone. There were no unnecessary crowd as well. Such civic behaviour!

My fav poison and sin

On the other side of the cafe, I saw people queuing up for taxis. Nobody was showing any restlessness or annoyance. Quietly and decently people were waiting for their turn. No ladies first policy, except a group of five blind old men, who were given the preference to board a taxi out of turn. That was humanity and good citizenship. I asked the waitress a thing about Lucky Plaza. She told me, I will have to take a bus or.... She misunderstood. I clarified to her, “No, I don't need a transport. I know where it is as I came walking from there to the OG behind.” She was surprised and shocked. She asked me, "You walked from lucky plaza to OG?! That's too far". I said, "No it’s not that far. It was an easy walking distance for me." She exclaimed, "That's too far for me!" I realised the reason. I just smiled in reply.

Singapore is a small city. The city can be covered from one end to the other in just 45 minutes by car. For me, it was very small, area-wise. I am used to bigger cities and longer walks. So, for me, walking from Lucky Plaza to OG was no big deal. But for the waitress, it was. Singapore has excellent public transportation facility making every inch easily accessible by the city dwellers. So, they prefer to just hop on and hop off from any of the air-conditioned public transport facility wherever and whenever they want to.

It was getting dark and I had shopping bags in my hand. So, I decided to go back to my hotel and asked for the check. Paid, took my things and headed towards the taxi stand where people were queuing up.

Dr Bhupen Hazarika lives on...

Dr Bhupen Hazarika

A life, led with the highest degree of simplicity — the pain, ups and downs of personal life, expressed in effortless melodies, the man, the legend who touched everyone's heart with his humane lyrics and melodies — can that great human being be dead and gone forever? No, for me, he is still alive in every one of us, whose heart he has touched with his soulful melodies and personal interaction. For me, only his body has expired, but his soul has moved on to live in each one of us, as our very own Bhupen mama, Bhupen da and Dr Bhupen Hazarika. 

The enormity of his funeral procession, the gathering of people of all ages, cast and religion to pay homage to the great legend are the proofs how a single element called soulful music is enough to unite everyone. Bhupen mama's music had that power. An excellent orator, director, brilliant student, a pioneer in making Assamese music global, Bhupen Hazarika lives on. My prayers to the almighty, may his soul rest in peace and guide us to remain united forever.

Companionship

My heartfelt condolences to Ms Kalpana Lajmi, though I know, no word can be enough to condole her on her loss. The emptiness she is going to face is unimaginable. My sincere gratitude to her for her unconditional love for Bhupen Hazarika. I thank her for taking care of the legend in his time of need, for being there for him – always, for having the courage to face the ridicule she had to face for her nameless relationship with Dr Bhupen Hazarika. She is not great for these reasons alone, my respect for her has grown manifold for (also) establishing the fact that love doesn’t have to have a name or a relationship tag to it. Love is just love. Ms Lajmi has proved it loud and clear. My heartfelt gratitude to her – for everything.

Know more about:

Dr Bhupen Hazarika

Ms. Kalpana Lajmi

The relationship

Solo Singapore - Part 2

The three days of the rigorous ITB Asia Convention left me tired and exhausted. The massive exhibitions in the three large halls of the Suntec Convention Center concluded successfully and I came back to my hotel room with considerable feet pain. All thanks to the continuous meetings, visits to each and every booth,   multiple press conferences and the need for a lot of networking. But, at the end of the event I felt satisfied at a job good done. While I enjoyed the opportunity of interacting with  the top notch travel professionals around the world, the high point and undoubtedly the most enriching experience was my meeting  the Secretary General of UNWTO Mr Taleb Rifai. The Editor-in-Chief of the Travel and Leisure magazine Chris Kucway inspired me to aim higher in my profession. His poise, skills in anchoring an event, discussion and his thorough knowledge left me spellbound. I was thankful to my employers for giving me the opportunity to attend one of the major events of the world tourism industry.

Mr Taleb Rifai giving his speech in the press conference

At the end of the event, media delegates were given passes to visit Sentosa (Sentosa is an island nearby). With two days of the weekend to explore the city of Singapore, I booked my pass for Sunday. I wanted to see Singapore first and what better way than to take the Hippo Bus City Tour! The Hippo Bus City Tour is a tour of Singapore on a roofless double decker bus and it has four routes. You can pick the one you are most interested in. The main hub of bus tours was just by the side of the main lobby of Suntec Convention Center. I hopped into one of the many double decker roofless busses that waited there. The lady driver asked me if I needed a day pass or just that single tour. I opted for the single tour, as I had no intention of getting down and wasting time. I wanted to see it first and know the routes. 

The Hippo Bus I was in.

The moment the bus started the in-bus audio system started and a handsome voice welcomed all the boarders in the bus. One by one the audio system, now to be our virtual guide, began to explain the attractions appearing on our right and left, as we made our way. I was amazed by the seamless synchronisation it had with the stops, traffic signals and sites of tourist importance. Starting from Suntec, we went through the city roads, reached the Formula1 racing ground, the Singapore Flyer and the Skypark on Marina Bay Sands. The skypark has always fascinated me ever since I saw the programme on Discovery Channel. Oh what a feat! A man-made marvel!

Singapore Flyer

The bus, continuing its journey and the synchronised iTour, took us through the financial district of Singapore where I could see all the tall buildings and heritage houses restored and re-used as restaurants and market places. Many such tourist spots later, the bus reached the Singapore Botanical Garden. This is a bigger halt for the Hippo Bus and you are given 20 minutes to get down and have a look around and enjoy the freshness. The entire area was alive with the fragrance of flowers and I couldn’t help taking deep breaths. It was very refreshing and I suddenly discovered I didn’t want to leave anymore! But since the time was up, I had to. On our return from the garden, we passed through the ultimate posh area of Singapore and the houses there looked like dreams on earth! The bus then took us to the Orchard Road, one of the many tourist attractions I wanted to see in Singapore. Orchard road was in a simple word – alluring. After enjoying the fresh air and the beautiful sites, the bus returned to its original hub and I got down to go back to my hotel. However, many of my co-passengers hopped off in different locations of their choice. Now, my visit to Orchard Road remained.

The Marina Bay Sands Sky Park

Solo Singapore

On October 18, this year, I had to go to Singapore to attend the ITB Asia travel conference representing our travel magazine. ITB Asia is the biggest travel trade show in Asia and a must visit for everyone in the travel industry. This is an ideal platform to network, make contacts and do business. I was glad to get this opportunity as I had never been to Singapore and really wanted to attend ITB Asia myself.

The concerned colleagues started to speed up the process of ticketing, hotel booking and visa procedures, as I needed to travel in three days. By evening I gathered all the information on ITB and my tickets were sent to my inbox by our official travel agent. The next three days, media and press meet invitations and conference RSVPs from ITB Asia participants kept flooding my inbox. My list of “to dos” was getting longer. 

Indian Passport

My flight was at 11.05 pm on Monday. I cooked, wound up, packed, locked the house and started for Mumbai International Airport. Whisking through all the checks and formalities I sat in the plane. After making myself comfortable, I suddenly started to get a panic attack. I felt a little scared, thinking, in five hours, I will be in a totally unknown place with absolute unknown people and all by myself. God! Butterflies started to flutter inside my stomach. But, yes, I do like this feeling of uncertainty and the thrill of going to an unknown place. Bring it on, I said to myself.

I usually don’t get sleep anywhere other than my bed. An exception is a first class train compartment. Since there was no sign of my getting sleep, I read a bit, watched some TV in the kingfisher in-flight entertainment system and nibbled on the snacks given. When the lights were dimmed, I made another attempt to sleep. But I couldn't. The air hostess gave me an arrival slip which was to be filled in and submitted at the immigration counter on arrival. I filled it up immediately, thinking it would be a good time pass. Well, people around me started to snore. So I switched off my reading light and seriously tried to make myself sleep. 

The islands below while I fly the good times

I must have slept for an hour in total, on and off. It was around 5 am (Singapore time) and I could see clouds outside. I was told that you can expect rain anytime of the day in Singapore. I tried to see beyond the clouds and down below. The view of some islands and ships with lights on made me feel good. I am hydrophobic and really get scared if I see a lot of water around. But I was in a place now where there is water everywhere and I was feeling okay. I thanked God for being kind to me.

Lights in the flight were put on. The hostess announced the descend and everyone woke up. A commotion of getting ready, straightening the chair backs and putting the window shades up filled the craft. I was getting ready with my passport and arrival slip on hand. The airhostess announced that transporting drugs is a punishable offence in Singapore and the punishment is death. Dude! I thought what if the paracetamols I was carrying for migraine headaches are called drugs here! 

Yes, the lovelies

Everybody deplaned and went through the  immigration process. To collect baggage the passengers had to take a sky train to the next level of the airport and I did exactly that. After the baggage collection, I came out of the exit, bought a local SIM card, withdrew some Singapore dollars from an ATM and I was good to go to my hotel at Carpenter Street. There were plenty of candy coloured taxis waiting outside the exit gate. I hired one and I was ready for Singapore!

Now, on my way to the city of Singapore, the first thing I wanted to write home about was — “if you want to know how many colours bougainvillea can have, visit Singapore”. The sinfully neat and perfect to the tee roads; swanky foreign cars, the ships on my left and the possibilities in the horizon; the manicured sidewalks and lush greenery, all these made me feel good instantly.