This is the last post of the year, that I have put together. Though we get very excited to plan that one long and one short holiday usually within our calendar year, the spontaneous weekend trips are also as much fun. Budgets are lesser, you need no leaves granted from the boss and yet you come back all rejuvenated with happy memories.
5 weekend getaways I loved going to, from Mumbai. (not in any order of preference).
The link to the stay option directs you to where I stayed and I truly liked all of the mentioned resorts/properties.
1.) Sula Vineyards
Nashik is a popular destination for wine connoisseurs and amateurs alike. It houses the famous Sula vineyards. The lush green vineyards, the guided tour and some relaxing time while sipping on wine and nibbling on some cheese makes it a worthwhile weekend.
How to get there: Nashik is 180 km from Mumbai, reachable by car, bus or train and 210 km from Pune, reachable by car or by bus.
A very convenient hilly weekend outing. Extremely green and surronded by enchancting valleys. It is just a 2/2.5 hour drive from Bombay and the most beautiful during monsoons. Lonavala is also famous for its chikki and delicious fudge!
How to get there: Very easily reachable by car or bus and several trains also connect Mumbai to Lonavala.
Stay: Check out this lovely property in Khandala - ideal for a staycation or a day trip. - http://www.dukesretreat.com/
3) Murud
This place should surely be on any itinerary of the Konkan Coast. The relaxed pace of life, fresh seafood, the majestic offshore Janjira fort and the blue and serene beach.
One can also take a boat ride till the fort before the sun sets.
How to get there: Hire a cab or rent a car to drive down to Murud, which takes about 4 hours. Travelling to Murud is little difficult for first time visitors but to start early in the morning is the best time to drive. One gets clear roads and can reach the destination faster.
Nestled beautifully on the Western Ghats, Igatpuri is a popular spot for seeking tranquility and natural beauty. Again it is prettiest during the monsoons. Ideal for an overnight get away to inhale some fresh air before getting back to base.
How to get there: 120 kms from Mumbai, it is a 2 hour drive away. It is also well connected by buses to the city (Mumbai).
A winding drive past Lonavala leads you to Lavasa, a pretty and planned township, situated between the Western Ghats near Pune. Lavasa has a variety of restaurants that offer open air dining on a beautiful lakeside promenade. Boating, cycling and skating are some of the activities you can enjoy during your weekend stay.
How to get there: It takes a little more than three hours of driving, to reach Lavasa through the beautiful Pune-Mumbai express road. The distance between Lavasa and Mumbai is almost 195 km. Roads are very meandering and buses or cars is the best way to reach Lavasa
So I hope you will consider the above options while you plan your time out from the hustle -bustle of the city life. Good news is that, even 2016 has been kind to us with quite a few long weekends like its forerunner - 2015!
Happy New Year! Wishing everyone a healthy and happy 2016 from the bottom of my heart.
Travel creates memories..that is the best part of a holiday/work trip for me. It enriches and exposes you to new environments, history, heritage and sceneries.
My husband and I went for a holiday to the United Kingdom and hopped on to two beautiful European cities after that - Amsterdam and Paris, in August earlier this year. The most fascinating part about this trip was the different cultures we could experience.
The magnificent and imperial colleges in The United Kingdom, the vibrancy and colourful culture of Amsterdam and last but not the least the romance you feel in the air when you touch down in Paris. Not to forget the delectable cuisine and the lip-smacking Parisian desserts.
Here are 3 of my favourite pictures from each of our stop overs.
The magnificent Radcliffe College in Oxford on a bright sunny English morning
A Postcard from - The Canal Cruise at Amsterdam
Paris - The Eiffel Tower and us
Without any doubt it was a splendid and enriching experience. We returned, all refreshed. Work got very hectic for both of us and the month of November was extremely hectic for me especially. An integral part of this busy month was a work trip to Dhaka. I had to organize and travel with an Indian media delegation for the launch of a renowned hotel brand - Le Meridien.
While this involved a lot of deliverables from my end but all encompassing it was indeed memorable. A South Asian neighbouring country - Bangladesh. So similar in terms of impeccable hospitality and warmth yet so different with regard to its history, heritage and local cuisine.
Here are some snapshots of the visit.
The Indian media delegation at an official dinner
The park with statues of all eminent writers who fought to keep Bangla as the official language
Some fish love: Grilled Salmon Steak in butter and balsamic sauce
A handmade colourful cycle rickhshawa - Dhaka is the cycle rickshaw capital of the world
The eminent Dhaka University - referred to as 'The Oxford of The East'
I hope you enjoyed reading this post as much as I enjoyed putting it together. When you pen down your thoughts - it is actually like reliving the moments again.
P.S: This trip fell in between the long Diwali weekend break. I had a flight out on an early Saturday morning with a working Friday in between.
However Puru (the husband - Pururaj) and I decided to make most of Wedneday and Thursday. We drove down to this beach called Murud Janjira. It is about a 4.5 hour drive from Bombay. Comparitively untouched, not so commercial and very blue and serene.
We loved our overnight road trip. Wish we could have extended the stay. India is truly incredible. Yes and this was just one miniscule part of our vast country. Hope we the people and Goverment can help in protecting mother nature in our very own mother land.
January, 22nd - 25th, 2015!!! Yes the peak of winter and I had to be in Jaipur on work. I was slightly apprehensive about it (I am Bengali and I feel cold) but was quite excited too, to visit this pinkly royal city after almost 18 years.
I am going to keep this short and sweet as it was a work trip and this will be a photo blog update! However it was a splendid exprience ranging from royal dinners at the ethinic forts to the local city tour and delectable local cuisine.
If I say that we miss you..would it be enough? Your smile full of innocence and those beautiful eyes hiding your tremendous pain, An understatement it would be if I say its tough. Recalling those slender fingers rhythmically playing the tabla I wonder sometimes is there anything left to gain. Yet I console myself: You are happy and in peace, But can you see a piece of this.. Your absence hounds me However I know this is reality from which I cannot flee... Now I know and I really know now That you left us for good, All I can cherish is the lovely memories of our childhood. A fragrant flower gone to dust, though the aroma still prevails I love you lots Brother..keep smiling like you did.. Talented,humble,affectionate and always so candid
Well its been precisely four and a half years since I left my hometown the city of joy- Kolkata; I like calling it Calcutta so the rest of this post will not mention Kolkata again !! Though I do not regret my decision and the scope in terms of the media field still remains negligible in the city, I have to admit that I do miss it now and then.
Why do I miss Calcutta and what makes it so special to me ?
1.4- Lake Terrace, Calcutta 29- My home where I spent 18 years of my life and I do not know how time flew by. Mom's home cooked food especially her mutton curry. Sitting with Dad in the living room watching cricket matches together and discussing the latest in every field -politics,sports and much more. Enjoying the sound of Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma on the santoor and the tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussian obviously on the tabla involved in an enthralling jugal bandi with my brother who happens to be a die hard fan of Zakir Hussian and also plays the tabla since he was six!
Finally cuddling my Labrador - Fido before hitting the bed every night.
2. Evening walks with my any of my close friends whoever is free at that time to this place called Vivekananda Park where you get to eat the most amazing puchkas and aloodum!
3. Modern High School for Girls! Little did I know then that one day I would look back and consider the days spent in school as the best days of my life.The lovely playground, the basketball and table tennis matches, the annual sports day, guide camps,pranks on the teachers and I could go on and on...
4. Park Street - The paradise for food lovers. A stretch of fairly reasonable restaurants which serve the most awesome food. The fish and chips at One Step Up, Fish Meuniere at Mocambo or the Chello Kebab at Peter Cat- One word to describe all is Delicious!
5. TANGRA/CHINA TOWN - I vouch for this! The best Chinese food ever.
6. Shisha! Though I am not a great party goer but I cannot deny that I have had a lot fun and strange moments at this night club.
7. New Market- Chamba Lamba- I have to visit this silver shop every time I touch base in Calcutta.
8. My friends back there with whom I can pick from wherever I left without any hesitation. Love you all.
9. The Howrah Bridge: I know that may sound a little weird but I have a strange fascination for this old yet towering and powerful structure.
10. Finally the people - Yes call them LAZY I agree, sometimes cranky and snappy I would agree with that too but very good at heart. I do not and probably never will feel the warmth I receive from the people in Calcutta in any part of the world.
You will and always bear a very special place in my heart no matter whether I am living in the city or outside it!
Indeed it is a life one would consider as worth living. Mrs. Mridula Shah is the satisfied human being who has made this statement.
Born in Ahmedabad in the year 1932, Mridula Shah has definitely come a very long way. She spent her entire childhood and adolescent life in Ahmedabad. She studied in a well reputed school in Ahmedabad. Till her 12th standard she stayed in this city with which she associates many fond memories. However a very different life was awaiting her after that.She got married to a businessman, Vipin Chandra Shah at the age of 18 and shifted base to Mumbai. Thereby she attained her Bachelors of Arts degree in Gujarati from WilsonCollege. She stood first in her college. Her life after that was completely dedicated to social service and remains to be that way even now.
In the first fifteen years of her stay in Mumbai Mridula used to visit the children’s and women’s wards at Harkishan Das hospital from 9.am to 1.pm on a daily basis. She mainly visited the ward of the children, played with them, narrated stories and enjoyed every moment with them. This gave her immense satisfaction and pleasure.
She says that she is still overwhelmed with grief when she remembers an incident where a mother was profusely weeping when she lost her only son who was a patient in this hospital. They were villagers who had come to Mumbai for their son’s treatment. Mridual and her husband were not very well off at that time; however she did manage to gather some money and gave it to the mother to carry out her son’s funeral. Shah still remembers how that lady embraced her then and cried relentlessly.She also sat with the patients undergoing dialysis and gave them moral support.Mridula started a toy library in the hospital with the help of the Lion’s club in Mumbai.
Despite tragedies in her life like the loss of her husband she has remained undeterred when it comes to serving the needy.
Shah says the two main inspirations in her life are her husband who always encouraged her to do social work and her father who was a doctor and treated the poor patients for free.
She feels that self belief is the main motivating factor in her life, which still gives her the energy to do her work diligently.After having visited HarkishanDasHospital for several years, due to some administrative reasons Shah was asked not to come to hospital anymore. This disappointed her a little bit but she took in her stride and decided to move on.
She then started visiting several orphanages in Mumbai. She feels very strongly for children and believes that most of them can do well in life if they are groomed in the right manner.
She visited orphanages like Ananda Kendra, Seva Sadan and Vatsalya.
She taught the students Mathematics and English. She says, “I do this for myself and not for anyone else”These unprivileged children are a bundle of talent according to her, but they fail to utilise their talent as they do not have concrete responsibilities in life.Mridula then wanted to teach poor children at her house in Napean Sea Road. She started this practice 40 years back and still continues to do so.She teaches around 30 students who live in slums and do not get access to tuitions or coaching classes. Shah strictly refuses to charge them even a penny. These students belong to the 5th, 6th and 7th and 8th standards. Initially she wondered how she would manage to carry out such a challenging task. However things did fall in place. She classified them according to their classes and started teaching them in different batches.
She confesses that she does feel a little disappointed when these children do not take their studies seriously and they do not turn up to study.She celebrates festivals like Diwali and Ganeshchaturarthi with these children at her residence.
Social work according to her is to help the needy and the unwanted.Till date, Shah also visits a few old age homes where she spends time with the old people. She says they are mainly neglected parents who have become like her brothers and sisters.Very proudly she says “I feel so satisfied with my life.”
She prays to god to give her the energy to teach these students who do not have any kind of financial backing.
Mridula also taught the blind students for a few years at the HappyHomeSchool for the Blind. The blind according to her are in a unique world of their own. She adds that they have a great sixth sense.
Shah hopes to never miss an opportunity to help the poor or needy. Even now at the age of 75 she wants to do everything she can for those who do not have the comfort and advantages that she has. However she does realize and points out that she could only do this all her life because she had a stable financial condition. There are many according to her who would like to help the others but fail to do so because of lack of finances.
She is exhilarated when she meets her old students who are now well settled, happily married and economically independent.The 75 year old is very thankful to her family and friends who have always supported her. She laughs and adds that though most of her friends sit at home or go to the houses of other ladies to play cards or just chat, all of them have always appreciated her efforts.
Her family is her strength. Apart form her husband who passed away many years back, her children have also given her unconditional support. Her daughter is an art teacher and also does her share of social work by teaching street children and organizing art exhibitions exhibiting the work of these children.
Her son handles the family business and has no problems with slum children coming home. Shah is extremely thankful to her daughter in law who handles the entire house and thus allows Mridula to do her social work with full attention.Social work is done by many people, but very few people dedicate their entire life span to it and Mridula Shah is one of them. Social workers do not like to publicise their work and so Shah was a little reluctant in the beginning to be written about. She feels that action speaks more than words and it truly does when we hear about the work done by her in the last 55 years.
It is remarkable to note that a lady of that era could do what she genuinely wanted to. She feels being happy and positive is what everyone should aim for. An optimist to the core, Shah says, “I will do whatever it takes to standby what I feel is right.”
Mridula Shah is one of those personalities who had the potential to help the others in need and one who used her potential to the optimum level. Like her there might many such individuals who can do their bit for the poor and the needy. Many of us make promises but fail to fulfill them. It largely depends on how one perceives social work. If people feel that they would be happier if they could help the others who need the support and concern, the world would definitely be a better place to live in. Every human being should realize his or her social responsibilities and do his or her bit for the betterment of the society. A good deed is always remembered by people and sometimes one should think beyond personal interest. Every little effort does make a difference.
P.S (I cannot publish her photograph as per her request).
The first few words a child barely manages to pronounce usually. However the same child realizes the significance of this one word once he or she finds oneself molded into an independent individual.
A short note I wrote for Mum when I moved to Mumbai, four years back and was haunted by her absence surrounding me...
To Ma
The woman who brought me into this world... You held me in your womb for nine whole months, Yet why is it so difficult to tell you that I Love you.. I know when the world leaves me you will be there..Your love is unconditional Ma, I know now and now you know that I am not by your side always yet I feel your presence everywhere. You are our support, You held us together. I have not and can never love you as much as you love me yet today I need and want to tell you-
