My best reads from 2016

What I read in 2016. Rozabal Line missing in the pic

Reading evolves you and opens the thinking doors of your mind. I love to read and do not shy away from calling myself a book worm. So, I took the Good Reads challenge of reading 12 books in 2016 but could read only 10. As we move into a new year, I look back at 2016 picking out the 5 best reads from my collection-









1. The Rozabal Line by Ashwin Sanghi

      Genre – Theological thriller

Story about religious terrorism and conspiracy of taking over the world by people who claim to be descendants of Gods. The story also establishes the belief that Jesus died in Kashmir. There is a shrine named Rozabal from where the novel is inspired. Since the time the novel was published, there has been a huge upsurge of visitors to the Rozabal shrine in Srinagar as reported by the Indian newspapers.

The story is gripping and quite different from any theological thriller. The background changes from a library in London to desert in Afghan and church in Goa to India-Pakistan border. Story revolves around an American priest who gets visions and is convinced to find out the relationship of his visions with his past life. The whole truth digging activity leads to a revelation of shocking facts connected to reincarnations, terrorism and Jesus!

This is Ashwin’s first book which was commercially not successful but critically acclaimed! This page turner tops my list of favorites.  Fast paced and so well detailed, you would be intrigued to read till the end. It can even change the belief of many religious schools of thoughts. I loved this brilliant work.

2.  Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

Genre- Short emotional stories

Indian author based out of New York usually writes about Indians who settle abroad. She brings about their struggle, their culture shock, their isolated lives and the way they take their culture along to connect with people. This book has various stories of Indian characters who come in touch with people abroad or come to tour India. Different stories, various emotions, a blend of gloomy as well as punch of humor in places.

Every story will leave you emotionally high. There is romance, there is old age love, there is betrayal, there is sadness, there is every spice of life. The stories are not thrillers or fast paced. But they bring out the emotional aspects of life beautifully. 

Jhumpa Lahiri is my personal favorite and this books ranks second in my reading list of 2016. 

   

3. Bankerupt by Ravi Subramanian

Genre- Economic crime thriller

This book received strong criticism from all readers calling it a bad read. Bankerput was my first pick from Subramanian's collection. What a brilliant piece this was! 

The story revolves around the protagonists Cririsha Narayanan, a professor at MIT Boston and Aditya Raisinghania, her banker husband. Cirisha and Aditya meet during a unique business deal. They both get married after some time but do not settle as a normal couple. Aditya stays in India while Cirisha goes back to her university in Boston. Aditya strikes an innovative business deal to help his father in law and gradually rises the corporate ladder. Shuttling between career and family, Cirisha struggles to settle her married life, often causing frustration to Aditya. While Aditya gets pulled into a financial scam, Cirisha stumbles upon a cryptic message, which is apparently the key to a larger scam. As the U.S elections inch closer, the debate on gun control gains momentum. Under strange circumstances, a series of life threatening events related to MIT Boston and the gun law happen that leaves everybody shocked.

The plot is super thrilling. The books kept me at the edge of my seat. The racy thriller kept me glued to it, asking for more! 

A banker by profession, Subramanian has written popular thrillers about banking and bankers, including award winning trilogy The Incredible Banker, The Bankster and Bankerupt.  Bankerupt got my attention and gets a happy third place in my reading list!

4. Delhi Deception by Elana Sabarwal

Genre- Thriller

Carla, an American Journalist comes to stay with her friend Elouise in Delhi after being cheated upon by her husband. Nursing her hurt, she diverts her attention to exploring Delhi and the Indian culture. She is carried away by George, a charming gentleman in the neighborhood, in-spite of warnings from Elousie. Carla struggles to forget her husband and continues to meet her new found love until one fine day she is kidnapped, only to be rescued by George. This incident draws them closer and there she finds herself neck deep in a conspiracy. Together with Elousie, they embark upon a journey to dig out the truth behind the hidden facts.   

Quick paced and easy language, this book has Indian background that one can easily relate to. The characters are strong and close to real which offers a good credibility to the story. It is a light read and you can finish it in three-four days. The plot is not too intense but still manages to engross you.

This found the fourth place in my reading list.   

5.  The Kite Runner by Khalid Hoesini

Genre- Historical Fiction/drama

After lot of hum drum and appreciation for this book, I at last read it in 2016. Trust me, from

the first chapter to the last, the book is full of grief and pain! Though this is an overwhelmingly touching book, it does not end on a happy note. Your mind goes deep into the sad story empathizing with the characters who have very harsh times. 

This is the story of Amir, a young boy from Kabul, whose closest friend is Hassan, his father's young Hazara servant.  The best buddies were like brothers. Amir developed a complex from Haasan and left the country with his father after the fall of Afghan monarchy. Guilty and ashamed, the two see tough times while trying to evade their country. Amir grows up in the US, at times thinking of his loyal friend Hassan. Years later he comes back in search of Hassan and to meet his father's loyal friends who had always helped them. Amir finds out the ugly truth. 

The entire novel is quite disturbing. From child abuse to Taliban rule, every incident sends shock down your spine. This book became a bestseller for Hosseini and sold over 7 million copies in the U.S. The Kite Runner is a-not-to-be missed literary piece of work! 

Burger King's 'Dine with Santa' Christmas Celebration

Burger King organised a date with Santa' this Xmas

Celebrate Christmas your own way with Burger King

New Delhi, 17th December 2016: Burger King, organised a Christmas Carnival at Burger King, Select City Walk Mall, Delhi from 16^th Dec to 18^th Dec. The same event would also be organized at Nehru Place outlet for 2 days, on 23rd and 24th Dec.

Burger King brings Santa in the town this Christmas. Burger King's very own Santa made an appearance giving away gifts to the children which added to the experience for the young ones. Apart from this the event had whole lot of musical entertainment, carols, along with hourly magic show. Carrying its promise to bring the best burger in the town, Burger King also offered a special meal package for people in the town. The celebration is happening from 16^th-18^th December in Select City Walk Mall, Saket outlet.

Burger King also took a special initiative to organize "Dine with Santa" for NGO kids from "Catalyst India Charitable Trust". The initiative gave the kids an opportunity to enjoy Christmas like any other kid. Talking about the celebration Cicily Thomas, Vice President, Operations and brand standards, Burger King said, "The whole idea of this Celebration is to let people have their own way of Christmas Celebration. With this Burger King also got the opportunity to play Santa this Christmas for NGO Kids. Burger King invited these kids in light of the Christmas season & spread the joy of giving."

The event also facilitated the facility of NGO to showcase their talent in the form of Carols in Burger King. The kids enjoyed the best of burger in the town while enjoying the Carols, magic show. 

Something about Burger King- 

The 1^st Burger King store launched in November 2014 in Delhi and since then there has been no looking back. The brand has a huge share in the U.S market and has successful in the Indian market as well. Christmas celebration with the underprivileged children, Burger King brings them joys and love for the season!   A great initiative indeed! 

Mr. X to Mr. Right

“This blogathon is supported by Woo, The most popular match making app in India with a base of over 3.5 million users.”

I did not want to get married because my parents wanted. Neither did I want to get married because the clock was ticking away. I wanted to get married only when I get the right person. But the big question was- How do I know he is right? Was there a universal criteria to judge men by their behavior or thinking? Or was there a questionnaire for all those prospects there? Wooh! It was indeed tough! 

The hunt for the right alliance began when I turned 25; just the age when parents want to see their daughters married. I being a rebel, rejected all alliances forwarded to me by my parents. How could I let them decide for my life partner? This was ONE decision I always to take on my own and not let anybody else control my destiny, even if they are my parents.

Reeling under pressure and fed up of taunts from my panicky mom, I found myself searching grooms online! I created an online matrimony account, read profiles, chatted with few, made friends with few only under the condition to take some time in knowing them. I met at least twenty prospects. Sounds like a huge number yea?

Excited and with heart fluttering over the first meeting nervousness, I met the first guy. 
A civil engineer by profession, the tall, good looking boy loved to debate. Soft spoken, intelligent and witty, I fell for him instantly. Things would have been nice only if his location factor was not in picture. His job required him to stay on the outskirts of Ahmadabad, whereas my career would have come to an end. I was unwilling to relocate to a remote village. He admitted he liked me and insisted to talk to my parents but I was tight lipped. I held back myself, oscillating between marriage and career. Eventually we drifted away from each other, only to receive news of his marriage to somebody else ofcourse! That was obvious and this lead to the end of a chapter "Mr X to Mr. Right".

Saddened by my first experience of searching for Mr Right that went wrong, I continued the journey further. After-al, life is full of stumbling stones and you should never give up.

Meeting with the second guy happened soon. Mr. X's decent looks, same field of job as mine, similar

interests and fitness consciousness made me feel an instant connection with him. He was talkative, I was the quiet one. We both loved reading and once again I felt he was THE guy I waited for! The happiness was short lived when he suddenly went out of touch. Post a gap of two months Mr. X reconnected with all real-sounding reasons like a relative's accident in US, father unwell, travelling and so on. Thinking to give him another chance, I accepted his all excuses.But I should have known! I should have thought how could a media person not have a social account? With a push from my sixth senses, I fished out his social media account. I should have known, when a guy refuses to add you in his friend list, something's not right. I should have known he was fooling me and would have fooled many other girls. He was engaged, waiting to get married in next few months. Between the time of his engagement and marriage, he'd thought of having fun hanging out with prospective brides! Upset and disappointed , all I could do was end the brief stint of so-called-love I felt with him. You can imagine what all I went through. I cried over my wrong selection. Uggh!!!

One of the other guys I met, had great sense of humor and loved traveling. But he confessed he would marry the girl chosen by his mom. What the hell he was doing on the matrimony website then? 

Another guy's father called me, praising his good son and passed on his number to me. Thank God I did not talk to Sonny dear. In few SMS that we exchanged, he told me how he ran away from his hometown just because marriage did not interest him and how he does drugs each day. My stars saved me from a drug addict! 

Another Mr X rejected me because I am vegetarian. So, what was he? A man eater? 

There are endless stories which continued for some time before the final chapter.  

Dejected and hopeless, I met another prospect. Just like other guys I had the same feedback for him. He was polite and well mannered (all guys are polite in the first meeting). We watched a movie, ate lunch together and called it a day. 

I decided to know more about him and dated him for a while. He was not the typical protective or possessive type who would open the car door for me or ask if I knew cooking. He respected my decision of pursuing career post marriage. He was the only guy who asked if I knew any tact of self defense. "Because husbands or cops cannot fly to the mishap sites, so ladies should to be able to protect themselves before help arrives", he said. Wow! Now that was impressive.

Time flew and we became bonded well. He loved English songs which he used to play while driving. Once while dropping me home, I was surprised when he played Ghazals in car. When I asked him the reason for the change, he blushed! He had downloaded Ghazals for me :-) I found it cute. Secretly I had my fingers crossed. 

While discussing the way we wanted to get married, I revealed my thoughts. To get married like a princess is any girl's dream but I wanted a simple ceremony in the company of close ones and not spend lavishly. I wanted no loan or huge expense for show off in wedding. To my surprise he agreed. He was totally cool with the idea of saving money for future than spend extravagantly for guests who do not come to help in grave hours of need. My respect for him multiplied that day. The warmth, honesty and space that he gave in the relationship was extremely comforting. His sense of responsibility and vision for future was praiseworthy. There was no reason for me to reject him. 

He called me one day to discuss something important. He wanted me to buy a health plan for myself and an insurance for parents. He was preparing me for emergency, which often goes neglected. I recalled my professor's debate topic during MBA tenure - "A perfect husband is one who prepares his wife for widowhood". This topic had raised many eyebrows but was worth thinking about. A shudder passed through me as he spoke about the insurance schemes. With welled up eyes the realization dawned upon me that HE was indeed MY Mr. Right.  

Within 7 months of dating Mr. X, we tied the knot in January 2015 and became my Mr. Right. 

  

Evening sky watch ~ Udaipur

Udaipur has undoubtedly the most beautiful sunsets. I feel lucky to have witnessed the luxurious hues of the sky as the fiery Sun sets, cooling off the heat in the lakes. There are various points in Udaipur to enjoy the views of sunset. I captured sunset from three places; Gangaur Ghat, Deendayal Updhayay Park and Banks of Lake Pichola on two different days.  This photo blog will capture the tangy orange and sweet pink luminous colors of sunsets that I witnessed during my trip to Udaipur in October 2016.

Pink sky- Gangaur Ghat- 5:30 pm (This was Day 1)

The rest of the sunset views are Day 2 on wards-

Lake Pichola bank - Around 5 pm

View from Deen DayalPark @5:30 pm

Pastel hues. View from Deen Dayal Park@ 5:56 pm

Panoramic view from Deen Dayal Park @ 5:58pm 

Sun down,. View from Deen Dayal Park@ 5:59 pm

 JagMandir: View from Lake Pichola bank@ 6:36 pm

 JagMandir: View from Lake Pichola bank@ 6:37 pm

                                                 

  

Jag Mandir after Sun down@ 7 pm

Here's why Sajjangarh Zoo in Udaipur a must visit

  

As the incredible Rajasthan always welcomes with the warm “Padharo maahro desh”, we keep coming to the princely state for more History, culture, art and adventure. So here we went on exploring more of Udaipur on the second day of our trip.

We reached Sajjangarh Biological Park (sanctuary) as suggested by friends.  .

Gate on left leads to the Zoo. Gate on right is for palace entry

The entry tickets has a separate counter fifteen meters away from the main gate. 
Ticket costs Rs 30 for Indians and Rs 300 for foreigners. Still camera charges are Rs 80 and Video Camera charges are Rs 200.

Timings- 9 to 5:30 pm daily, closed on Tuesday  

Spread over a total area of 36 heactares, this park was established with the objective of conserving endangered flora and fauna and developing among visitors an empathy for wild animals. The zoo is flagged with boards on wildlife conservation and protection.

You can tour the park on foot. I do not recommend it, since its too tiring and hot under the sun right on your head. The walking paths are without shades.

Or else you can buy tickets for Golf Cart at Rs 50 each for a 90 minutes ride. The carts that accommodates 6 people in one go, are noiseless and battery operated, hence cause no pollution or disturbance for the environment.  The only limitation- The cart moves only when full. The management might convince you to pay Rs 60 in case you want to make it move early.

The third most exciting mode of travelling is bicycle. These non fancy-no gear-manual cycles can put you through a real endurance test. They charge Rs 20 per hour. One can cycle through the whole sanctuary in less than two hours. Needless to say, we chose to cycle. 

The only mistake we did - We did not cover our heads. 

Advisable- Carry a hat/stoll/cap to protect your head from direct sun, lest you should be dehydrated/get headache.  

Cycle ki sawari

The pathways are beautiful and very well maintained. Sajjangarh Zoo is a polythene free area dotted with bins and banners that discourage people from littering.

                          


It is a visual treat to see several species of animals in large allocated spaces. Meeting Ostrich was a pleasant surprise. 

                                  

Witnessing tortoises fight with each other was amusing. Who could imagine these slow timid creatures fighting? But they did! 

The most interesting enclosure was of the croc’s. The tank had glass walls for the visitors to look into the croc’s eye. However, the reptile chose to relax on the sand and not enter into the water. Huh, tough luck! 

We also saw the four legged animals which had committed suicide in front of Salman Khan’s car. The black buck.  hehe.

Black Buck

A resting tigress 

Wolf enclosure

Some treks were steep where we had to drag the cycles along. The whole cycling experience is just wonderful.

• Wear shoes else cycling or walking would be difficult. 
• Carry water with you. Though the zoo has water coolers at short distances, your golf cart may not stop everywhere.
• Please maintain silence lest you should scare the animals.

The Monsson Palace, on the adjacent road is also visible from the zoo. The heat slowed us down and we kept taking short breaks under trees' shade. By the exit time, we literally fled with our cycles without looking at the animals since it was too hot! I don’t remember how many times we had refilled our water bottles. Sweating and tired we returned the cycles post two hours of adventure.

As we exited the Zoo with bagful of memories and camera full of pictures, we contemplated whether or not to visit the Monsoon Palace. To know what happened next, read here.

P.S- This trip of mine to Udaipur was in Oct 2016.

Bollywood Dandiya Raas 2016- Gurgaon

Gurgaon, 10th October 2016: The time of the year has arrived when everyone is ready to tap their

feet on the beats of famous Bollywood item numbers wearing the traditional clothes bought from

the expensive designer boutiques. It’s Navratri.

Kingdom of Dreams, which carries a great reputation of hosting some of the most talked about musical nights of Delhi – NCR, hosted a 3 days Dandiya Event - Bollywood Dandiya Raas 2016 organised by Pearl Wedding and Entertainment. Pearl group have been organising the biggest Dandiya event in Delhi – NCR from last 4 years and this year it was bigger and better than ever, they came up with loads of WOW element like live music, live dance  performances, different competitions, decorative stalls for shopping and yes lots of different gifts for the participants.

The first day of the event was a mega hit as the Punjabi and Bollywood singer, IndeepBakshi, fame from “Saturday Saturday and kala chasma from the movie “Baarbaardekho” made the crowd go mad with his high voltage performance.

The infectious chart busters from his newly released album “Bad wali Feeling” was too much for the crowd to handle. Even with a traffic struck Friday night, people came from all parts to rejoice the beats of Dandiya with the troupe from Gujarat teaching them the GarbaRaas.

The night started with a singing duo from Gujrat who sung some traditional Garba and people became a part of the dance formation.

It was a spectacular to watch people swirl in a massive circular formation. As the night progressed, the pop-star ‘IndeepBakshi’ combined the power packed Bhangra and the rhythmic beats of Danidya and the people were floored by his energy.

The second and third day witnessed some enthralling and intoxicating performances by Pinki

Maidasani and Farhad Bhiwandiwaland with people turning up in large number to cash the

weekend.

Gujarati dance troupe along with electrifying Barqat band brought the flavour of Gujarat

to our city. Crowd also got a chance to satiate their taste buds with different cuisines from various parts of India at the very famous Cultural Gully.

  

PINKI MAIDASANI:

PinkyMaidasani is an Indian Idol 3 finalist &bollywood playback singer. She has sung for various Bollywood movies song like Kiklikaler di from Luv ShuvTey Chicken Khurana , dekh le kismat yaar from Shrafat Gayi Tel Lene. She is doing many live shows within and outside India.

FARHAD BHIWANDIWALA:

Farhad comes from a Parsi family and is a known playback singer who has sung many songs for

Bollywood. He has sung for famous Bollywood actors like Sanjay Dutt, Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan and Salman Khan.

Barqat Band

Barqat Band is one of the most famous & known bands of India. India’s got talent 2016 Finalist Afzal Ahmad and his band is among the group. This Band has done lots of live shows with many celebrities artists like Neha Thakur , Sunidhi Chauhan , Rakesh Maini , etc.

One rainy day in Nainital

Continued from Day 2 after trip to Kilbury Forest.

It poured as returned from Kilbury. The roads started to get jam-packed because of two reasons. One rains, and two the last day of Naina Devi Mela. The plan for more local sightseeing had to be canceled. Suddenly God made her presence felt. Nanda Devi Shobha Yatra (procession) crossed our hotel. It was the last day of the Nanda Devi festival before idol immersion in late evening. The energy, the enthusiasm and love of devotees was worth watching as they pulled the rath (chariot) of Naina Devi Maa across the steep lanes amid continuous drizzle.

                         

Devotees swayed singing folk songs and praises for Devi Maa. Prasad was generously distributed to everyone on the streets. Each year the festival is celebrated with much pomp & flare and Devi Maa is given a warm farewell, promising to celebrate next year again.

As rain halted, we sneaked out on Mall road looking for something unique to eat. We enjoyed tea and soya momos. (Veg for a change. Husband please take note of this!). It drizzled again as we took shelter in a tea stall.

Spotted this attractive blue house on the street from the restaurant

We rushed back to our hotel and stayed in till dinner time. Special mention of Hotel Treebo Cloud 7 for the things they have in their rooms for guests. Super cool !! 

As soon as we stepped out around seven it started pouring again, adding to our worries for next day. It was indeed very sweet of the hotel manager to lend us his umbrella for the evening. We headed to China Town restaurant for dinner. The place is usually crowded with a queue in waiting always. The love for momos took husband there and we had a big meal at very economical price.

Don’t expect hygiene, nice ambiance or quick service in the overtly crowded eating joint. Looks like a shabby canteen where people huddle like chickens in coop. I found the food average, just like any eating joint serving Chinese. Half my appetite died looking at the poor sanitation. Back of my mind, I prayed we don’t get an upset stomach.

Shops in Nainital shut as early at 8 pm. Streets start to bear the deserted look by 9 pm. Our plan of buying an umbrella was shattered hence. We were worried for next day which we had scheduled for Bhimtal and Naukuchitaal. How will we carry our expensive camera? The thought was killing us!

Being in the travel industry and having a travel freak wife (yay), husband strategizes holiday very well. So we had premeditated the next day in sequence- a boat ride early morning, breakfast on hotel terrace, check out at eleven, visit the nearby places whole day and board Delhi bound volvo from Haldwani in evening. The success of the arrangement was totally in the hands of Rain God.

We crashed around 11 pm while rains lashed the silent streets non stop. 

Stay tuned for Day 3...


P.s - This trip was in September 2016


By the way this post made it to the top blog of the day on Indiblogger home page