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 

Ramp on Fire- Big Boy Toyz Hot Wheels

Big Boy Toyz extended its patronage to India Runway Week for the 3rd time in a row for the 7th Season, Winter Festival 2016. The Three Day Event was held at Thyagraj Stadium, New Delhi from 16th to 18th September 2016.

Big Boy Toyz, the name synonymous with setting new benchmarks & trends, has done it again and how!  The Fashion Shows have always been about glitz and glamour associated with Clothes & Accessories only, however for the first time, the Finale of IRW  by Riddhi and Sidhi which was an exclusive show co-hosted by Big Boy Toyz created sensation by bringing the Super Hot Wheels on the Ramp. Pumping a clear shot of adrenaline; three Supercars enticed the viewers with what is called Music to the Ears. As the Ferrari 458 Italia in sparkling Giallo Modena gaited gracefully on the Ramp, the crowd’s reaction was worth a watch. And if that was not enough, another Supercar- an Audi R8 ‘Spyder’ in Brilliant Red gave another shot of excitement. As the soft roof of the car slowly retracted, the audience could hear another set of V10s lighting up the Show. And this time, it was a Bianco Monocerus Lamborghini Gallardo ‘Spyder’ LP 560-4.

The company takes pride in being one of its kind that deals in super exotic cars in the country. They found IRW to be a perfect platform to show their support to the young and dynamic designers.

Jatin Ahuja, Founder & Managing Director, Big Boy Toyz said, “I am glad to be associated with IRW for the 3 ^rd time in a row for their 7^th Season. IRW is a wonderful platform for the talented designers to showcase their creativity & Big Boy Toyz is equally pleased to extend the support to this amazing platform. We certainly look forward to keep encouraging the Skill to help them touch the Sky and Shine with pride on the Global Scale.”

Avinash Pathania, Founder IFFD said “We’re delighted to welcome Big Boy Toyz as our associate for third time in a row for the India Runway Week Winter Festive 2016. Fashion designers are masters of the use of color, proportion, and textiles, which are all very important elements of luxury cars which they are selling. ”

The Delhi Deception- Book Review

Book- The Delhi Deception

Author- Elana Sabharwal

Genre- Romantic thriller

Number of pages in the book - 370

Type- Paperback 

Publisher- CreateSpace Independent Publishing

Usually I stay away from love stories since I find them too dramatic and boring. My favorite genre happen to be thrillers, murder mysteries, theology, sci-fi and horror by John Grisham, Agatha Christie, Ashwin Sanghi and Amish Tripathi. This time I opted for a new author to try something different. After all budding artists should be given a fair chance yeah?

PS: The book was NOT sent to me by the author. The review is my personal opinion and not for promotional purpose.

‘The Delhi Deception’ by Elana Sabharwal is a thriller written in the backdrop of Delhi.

The plot- Carla, born to an Indian father and South African mother, is a journalist by profession who was born and brought up in South Africa. She is married to Andrew, a war journalist with CNN, posted in Pakistan. Distance keeps the two physically apart and Carla desperately wants to meet him, before she goes to India to meet her father’s family. She gets the shock of her life on finding out Andrew cheating on her. An upset Carla leaves for India and stays with her best friend Elousie.

Taking refuge in retail therapy and historical tour of Delhi, Carla meets a handsome George who frequents the social gatherings. She is attracted to him, hushing up her inner voice that she is married. The story takes a turn when Carla is kidnapped, injected with drugs, sold to traffickers but rescued by George. Gradually she falls for him inspite of being warned to be beware of the latter; nursing her wound on one hand and feeling guilty on the other. An interesting turn to the story comes when George convinces her to spy on Elousie’s husband who is suspected to be involved in anti national crime. 

Caught between friendship and new found love, Carla finds herself trapped in the blind maze with no light at the end of the tunnel. As the story unfolds, Andrew comes to Delhi searching for Carla, making it even more difficult for her to trust her own instincts. She is drawn deeper in a black hole of shocking revelations as betrayal gapes at her.

My views- Not even for a single moment did I feel that the author is from outside India! The book has been written after deep research and Delhi beautifully described. Elana has taken care of every little thing about India. Writing on a culture not known to somebody ain’t easy, and she does that seamlessly! From tea culture to Indian family values, Elana has taken every detail into account to create a fiction which seems real.

Under the smiling faces and painted colors of the elite class society, there lies a dark untold story, often concealed from the public. The smiles are fake, the gestures are forced, yet they look natural and good to naked eye. Elana has been able to bring out these aspects very well, making me nod in agreement each time while reading.

Carla is quite an interesting character portrayed by the author with different shades in her personality. I personally like the way Elana has shown Carla feeling guilty and then giving in. 

George seems every women's dream! Too perfect to be true (Hehe) 

Elousie, Carla's friend, is an underplayed character. Her actions did not make sense. But somebody always plays the fool in a fiction pulp, isn't it? 

The only place where the story stumbled was the climax where Elana picked up all broken pieces to complete the jigsaw puzzle. 

Spoiler- Why will terrorists dealing with Nuke leave the victim alive in an old unused factory? And why on Earth should the ladies be kidnapped just to be brought to the same factory where the nuke weapon was assembled?  Carla's reunion with her father's family (the main objective of her going to India) was diluted as the story progressed. The whole background of her father's family seemed unnecessary!

    

The book was otherwise quite engaging, leaving me wondering “what’s next” after each chapter.  If only the climax was a little better and watertight, the story would be flawless. Infact the climax was a bit stretched and over done. But as they say, no body is prefect, so the minor flaws do not annoy you. 

In a nutshell, this is a light read for all audience. Not suitable for "serious action"lovers may be but has all ingredients for a perfect Bollywood Masala fiction. Will not appeal to a mature audience. The language is quite simple, sans complicated words or jargons. 

My rating- 3 on 5 

About the author- Elana is married to an Indian physicist is a mother of 4 daughters. She lives in Cape Town, South Africa. A former fashion designer,Elana is currently work as a marketing director for a chain of five restaurants co-owned by her and husband.

Read more about her at http://www.elanasabharwalbooks.com/

Readomania Talk Fest- With RJ Nitin

Readomania's talk fests are one its kind and sadly I have missed attending them all this while. I attended the 5th Talk Fest which was a crowd puller because of the speaker RJ Khurafati Nitin. The stage was set at India Habitat Center, Lodhi Road for Sunday, 28th Aug '16.

The interactive show intended to bring his inspiring struggle story to the public along with exciting gifts and giveaways. For me, the best giveaway were the rich learning lessons. Nitin who is a well known entertainer and is the most awarded Radio Jockey held the crowd with his great sense of humor amid the story of highs and lows of his life.

For those who did not know, Nitin's full name is Jonathan Philip Nitin Brady. Born to a lovely couple who came from different castes, Nitin himself is married to Sunita, a girl outside his religion. His words "Mere ghar mei poora Bhaarat basta hai" hence stands true to the core.

He began his career with All India Radio around 15 years ago. Gradually his career picked up when Radio as a medium started to became popular. Amid the golden period of success and fame he enjoyed, Nitin faced a sudden downfall in his career when he was left with no job and was financially broke. He bravely faced the tough depressing phase of life and decided to move on with something, if not radio. He started selling samosa and chole bhature from a little eating stall in Gurgaon. The difficult time continued for quite some time. The best part was the thorough support of his family with a special mention of his younger brother Raul who quit his job to support Nitin.

The RJ shared a touching video of Derek Redmond who injured his leg hamstring few meters before the finish line. Determined to finish the race, Redmond got up with the seething pain and limped on the track.  A man breaking security barriers came to Redmond to offer him his shoulder. It was his father who said "We will finish the race together". Father sun duo hand in hand walked the track with a limping and wailing Redmond, refusing to give up. His father let him walk the last few meters on his own, amid a crowd of 65,000 people cheering for both.

The purpose of sharing the video was to show two things; One, to never give up, Two, no matter what happens, your family will always support you. With such a valuable lesson and emotional visual, my eyes turned moist and throat choked. I am sure many felt the same.

Quoting his own example, he takes pride in telling how his family has been an anchor and built a strong support system for him.

To lighten the seriousness, Nitin played humorous prank call recordings in between. As he continued narrating his life journey, he shared his insights about a backup plan. Soon after his mother questioned and planted an idea of back up plan in life, Nitin with his brother Raul ventured into production house. He played one of the short films he has made which intends to create awareness on a deadly drugs named SMILES.

After Fever 104 FM hired him, Nitin convinced the management to start a show with his philanthropic philosophy. He has managed to spread the message to Delhi and successfully raised funds for acid attack victims facial surgery, AIDS patients and getting those people released from jail who couldn't afford bail. The stories behind the project again left my eyes welled up.

A big salute to this man with a heart of gold who touched and changed so many lives. He took a huge risk with this show which had many eyebrows raised. Nitin went by the philosophy that even if he fails to raise money for the needy, he wants to do something good. He wants to live in the hearts of people who would remember him as a good person after he dies. From pleading people for making way for ambulance to stay away from drugs, Nitin uses radio as the best CSR medium.

Very few celebs have such generous hearts. Nitin proved himself not only a good RJ but an excellent human being too. Such motivational talks strike so many chords within you.

The house was open for Q/A and he kept tossing gifts to the audience. As Nitin ended his energetic talk after an hour (where he spoke non stop), the crowd flocked to him for pictures. Husband and I took one too. The picture is hazy but the memories are crystal clear :-)

 

The Conjuring 2

Movie Review

I am a big fan of horror movies. No, not the Ramsay banners please! I pick up a horror film expecting a unique content, but end up disappointed. The Conjuring-1 garnered lot of public attention with its different presentation. The team thought of continuing the legacy with a sequel. Want to know what happened next? Okay then, read on.

The plot- A single mother Peggy Hogdson stays in a big house in London with her four kids, struggling hard to make needs meet ends. Their life turns upside down when her eleven year old daughter Janet sleepwalks and converses with a spirit. Things go ugly when the screams become frequent and Janet is possessed by a demon who claims the house to be his own.

The incident reaches media and ultimately paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warrren who were popularly known for investigating the AmityVille murders. Lorraine had a vision of Ed being killed by a demonic Nun figure during the investigation of AmityVille shootout.  In fear of Ed’s death, she takes a break from work, trying to stay away from investigations. When they are approached to help Janet, Lorraine agrees reluctantly, asking Ed not to get involved closely in the case. Both reach London as observers instead of investigators.

The local investigation team finds out Janet is possessed by spirit of Bill Wilkins but soon call it it a fake show when they see Janet in a video recording purposely throwing things. Being challenged on the legitimacy of spirits, an angry Peggy asks them to leave the house. The Warrens half heartedly return but turn around when they discover Bill Wilkin’s spirit is not the main culprit. Lorraine sees the same Nun demon from her previous vision haunting the Hogdson house. What was the connection? Why does she see Ed dead? Does Ed make it to the end? Well, you gotta watch it for yourself.

My views- Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson as the Warren couple, play their characters well. They efficiently portray calm, ready to help, no nonsense, sweet people. The real couple in real life was also as sweet and loving as shown in the film. The backdrop, the set of the old house gave it an authentic look of 70's. Madison Wolfe as Janet Hogdson was convincing for her age. 

Frankly, I missed the core horror factor. Same props and dim rooms no more attract the audience. Please try something new. Unlike the prequel, Conjuring -2 lacks the spine chilling factor. Why do demons or spirits make their presence felt only at night? Objects flying, tables shaking, hideously spooky faces are old school! (No offence to demons okay). Power cuts in the presence of spirits, creeky doors, disturbance in TV sets- seriously people? Who finds these creepy at all? Given the history of late 70's, I agree nothing much could have been done. Still, making it spicy is in the hands of the director, ain't it?

For those who still enjoy this level of horror, please watch it. If you are looking for something new, then this is not your cup of tea. 

By the end of the movie, I felt I could have invested time in a better movie. Conjuring 2 is good to watch if you have no other movie or sitting idle while travelling in local transport. 

Genre- Supernatural 

Duration- 134 minutes

Direction- James Wan

Restaurant review - INDIA ON MY PLATE

Fortune Hotel, part of the prestigious ITC group is well known for its excellence in service. The beautiful property located on Sohna Road, Gurgaon has opened a new restaurant INDIA ON MY PLATE and extended a warm invitation to me for its media preview on 16th July.

The restaurant theme revolves around different Indian cuisines under one roof. They serve variety of specialities from each Indian state, blending in authenticity and great taste. The USP of the place is LIVE ghazals by renowned Gharana sensation who also sing songs requested by guests. I thoroughly enjoyed the ghazals of maestro Late Jagjit Singh sung by the artist. What a perfect way of spending a weekend!

PR Shuddhita and Shrea gave us a tour and history of the restaurant, sharing their speciality with us. India on my plate has a spacious indoor seating on second floor of the hotel, overlooking a pool outside. The aesthetics on walls showcase the royal maharajas and maharanis from ancient times, adding more cultural value to the place.

Neer More

Ram Laddu

The courteous waiters started with traditional welcome drink named ‘Neer More’ which tastes like rasam. Partly tangy partly salty, the spices burst into your mouth as you sip this cool appetiser. 'Últe tawe ka khakhra’ coupled with an array of chutneys accompany it.  

Tilwali subz seekh - My favorite

Starters flowed in and each item on the plate spoke of a true Indian experience with the finest blend of spices. My order of veg starters comprised Ram Laddu, Rajma Galaouti, Tiwali subz seekh, dahi kebab, bhutta mutter shammi and pudina paneer tikka. I skipped the Nilgiri Cheese Dosai as I made space for main course. Nawab’s style Rajma Galaouti was simple crispy bite and little spicy just like the Nawab’s form. Awadhi style Tilwali subz seekh and dahi kebab stood out in the entire platter. Tilwale seekh gets a full 5 on 5 from me.

Rajma Galaouti

Cranberry mocktail

Hyderabadi combination of corn and peas made on tawa- Bhutta mutter shammi was the second best. I found Ram Laddu- stuffed moong daal deep fried served with radish and green chutney- okayish since I am not much fond of this. Maida roti layered with ghee accompanied the starters.

I sipped cranberry mocktail along the starters. Unfortunately this mocktail turned out to be quite sweet and not so refreshing.

Being the first day of the restaurant, the staff was quite busy with their hands full of orders from every table. Main course arrived after some delay while I enjoyed the live music and virgin mojito. Oops virgin mojito was not upto the mark. It was overloaded with sweet.

Beautiful bar in the middle 

Rasmalai

 I liked the copper utensils for serving dishes which completes the Indian concept palate. Be it chutneys in copper bowls or main course in the copper carriers, the presentation looked great! I opted for veg dum biryani that came on a plate covered by an edible veil for “dum”. Choley Darbari biryani was nicely prepared with all spices measured flawlessly. I loved the daal tadka which is also said to be the speciality of Fortune. Imagine a simple yellow daal turning out to be the best item of lunch!

Marwad famed Dahi aalu achaari is another unique item in vegetarian menu which is made by potatoes simmered in pickling curd. A nice tangy punch feels heavenly.  

The last item in main course was Amritsar’s Paneer Kasturi. The color looked tempting however the dish wasn’t much exciting. Husband enjoyed his non veg meal of mutton curry, chicken chettinad and gosht biryani.  

Amritsari Badam Phiri

After a hearty meal, I was full to the core but an Indian can never turn down desserts. Hehe

Husband had Rasmali and I chose Amritsari badam phiri. Former tasted way better than Phiri.

Shuddhita in her conversation told us about Indian Cuisines that would be presented rotational basis. The thaali would be unlimited, priced at 500INR only. This gives me more reasons to visit INDIA ON MY PLATE again in future. What’s better than pocket friendly authentic Indian food at a great place like Fortune Excalibur?

Ambience- Very comfortable, warm and cheerful- 5/5

Food presentation- 5/5

Experiment with cuisines- Good attempt- 4/5

Staff- Very courteous, polite- 5/5

Anything missing – I missed salad. May be it can be included. I also found the ‘health consciousness’ factor missing. However, health has not been the focus of Indian cuisine, so Fortune kept it at bay. May be they can introduce a section for health conscious ones like me.