Explorer of Experiences

Mussoorie International School “Hanisha, you’re going to boarding school! Are you excited?” To my eleven year old mind, this one sentence coming to me from my mum was just too much to process; I probably did not completely comprehend the entirety of the situation and the journey I was going to embark on. One minute, it is life as usual with my sisters and I returning from day school in Nigeria lugging a 3kg bag with books – and the next minute, there was going to be a disruption in this cyclical routine of eight years in the form of being sent to a boarding school in Mussoorie. I did not even know where Mussoorie was! Was I prepared to leave behind my oyster and be swung atop mountains unknown? I was fresh out of fifth standard and watched as my mum and dad gathered the contents of my cupboard and neatly placed them into a suitcase. We were departing for Delhi the next day from where we would hail a cab and head towards my mum’s maternal home in Jaipur. I remember it all so w...

I loved studying Public Relations as a subject back in university. It all sounded like quite a fun profession, at least within the four walls of the Lecture Room it did…until my first job was as a PR Executive and I realized it was a tough job. Here's a funny meme I came across... Jokes apart, here's reality: 1.      You slog hard to make someone else or something famous 8 hours of your every working day, you work to shed limelight to your client or client’s product. It is a result of your own effort of pitching your story to the journalist and coaxing them that your client gets featured on the cover page or even gets a quarter page clipping in a magazine. Think how selfless you have to be when you sport a genuine smile while you see your excited client reading about himself in that magazine. 2.      You blame Sex and the City where Samantha make her PR job seem glamorous Always on the phone, in demand, dressed immaculately a...

I wrote the following article for  The Punekar recently. The kind of response it got did not stun me, it was heart-warming. Right from the minute it was uploaded on the website, the article got an overwhelming traction. It received 75k+ views, was shared by 214 people and got over 2000 Facebook likes. I hope you enjoy the read! Link to published article here .  1. Not (Too Cool for School) Some of the wisest teachers live in Pune! Be it medicine, management or military, this metropolitan is ‘la maison officiel’ of education. 2. Love Thy Neighbour Pune is a mere three hour journey away from India’s financial and film capital, Mumbai. People living in one city actually commute daily to the other for work. 3. All The World’s A Stage  Home to the Film and Television Institue of India, National Film Archives of India and an advocate of Marathi theatre, Pune has been and continues to champion its love for performing arts. 4. The Weatherman Nestled...

This post is written as an entry to the #MoreIndianThanYouThink contest by Lufthansa India.  It was a contest I found out through Indiblogger:  http://bit.ly/MITYTIndiblogger  Good ads are rare to see these days. But this Lufthansa India TVC was really touching. Here we have an international airline that has tapped into the EQ of Indians so beautifully. We witness a conversation between a grandfather and his grandson where the former discusses his preconceptions about travelling to Germany by a German airline. But Lufthansa breaks these notions with the airlines being so clued in to India and its culture! This topic 'How the world is more Indian than you think' is an interesting one. While our country with her burgeoning young population is aping the West, the rest of the world is watching India closer than we think. Decade after decade, NRIs have been leading the way in being India's culture ambassadors in foreign countries. Until five years ago, I was an NRI too. So...

This article was published on Burrp . Call it a brewpub or a gastro-pub; they have got the recipe right – superbly brewed beer with some tasty grub. Independence Brewery Company located in  Mundhwa  is spacious. If not the bar stools, then choose from bench-style seating to get comfortable. Having opened its doors to beer guzzlers in January, the pub finally acquired the required licenses to brew their own beer on site. It is interesting to note that they do not serve beer in pitchers or towers here. Shailendra Bisht, owner and Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) approved member, works out the science behind the perfect mug of ale. Here, beer is served in a tall glass so you savour it at just the right temperature (4-5 Degrees Celsius). They brew four kinds of beer of which the pale yellow, translucent Belgian Wit Beer (Rs 300 for 500ml) is our pick for its easy-on-the-palate fruity notes that make it difficult to stop drinking it. The American Pale Ale (Rs 300...

This article was published on The Punekar . Butter crepe at Yogi Tree When an outsider questions you about some of the most popular places to eat in Pune, what’s your response? I bet the regulars – High Spirits, Tertullia and Malaka Spice figure in your recommendations. But, let’s see and experience beyond the usual and open up a wider window of taste and flavours! We draw up a list of some eateries in town that serve great tasting fare with or without the ambiance. Chai and Bun-Maska The city’s favourite tea snack is the  Bun-Muska . Over time, we have been conditioned to associate Chai with Vohuman Café. Yes, it is a buzzing little place popular for its owner’s eccentricities and double omelet. But, have you visited Café Yezdan yet? Born in 1964, this Irani café is an important fragment of Pune’s food heritage. A tiny open kitchen doles out Omelet, Bhurji , Chai and a lot more. And yes, they slather as much fat on bread as their other counterparts in the city do. ...

There's a first time for everything! Last month, I was interviewed by Social Samosa . I'm very excited to share this on my blog. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ THE INTERVIEW We interviewed,  Hanisha Lalwani  – Assistant Manager, Marketing & Communications who handles the social media vertical internally at Courtyard by Marriott Pune City Centre. She highlights how Courtyard better understands its customers & fosters brand loyalty through fresh content. She also throws light upon how customer queries & grievances are effectively addressed at the earliest. What role does social media play in your marketing communications?  How important is it for a premier business brand like yours to be in the social space? The emphasis on social media and the role it plays in our integrated marketing communications plan has become more pronounced, especially over the last year. Having a digital...

Exotic, old-world charm and vibrant, Turkey is all of this and more. It sits on the world map with one foot in Asia and the other in Europe. But this Republic is not confused. With a rich heritage and great infrastructure, it is no surprise Turkey has found its rightful place on a traveler's bucket list. The conventional Indian travelers per se discovered Turkey in 2010. A lot of my friends and my Facebook pages had Turkey trip photo albums popping up. Very different and beautiful landscapes made Turkey a fascinating and alluring destination.  In April 2012, it was finally my turn. I visited Turkey - Istanbul, Cappadocia, Pamukale and Antalya, to be precise. Back then, I had not begun maintaining a blog - which I regret - so I did not practice keeping notes documenting my travels. Now when I think of writing this blog, those lovely and interesting beads of trivia and experiences lie somewhere distant in my memory and I struggle to fish them out. Hence, I will carry out this...