Explorer of Experiences

"Solo travel is overrated" I once said, even tweeted No, I was never a fan Until one day, I landed in Italy Alone, no friend, no man So what if travel plans with friends get derailed Do you mope over why they failed? Or consider the travel opportunity too good to pass by... You pick up your bags, and solitary, you fly What was the charm in spending the holidays at home alone? None, so I landed in Rome alone Around Italy, I lost and found my way Relying on myself, exploring night and day Traveling alone turned out to be sacred The self-absorbed conveniences I found new, alluring No, there was none of that cinematic soul-searching Just one lifetime experience worth cherishing Here's from me to you...beat the blues the isolation may bring Embrace the 'you', take her under your wing This travel was no romantic quest for self-discovery It was just me enjoying my own company! -------- I am thrilled to share this...

Image courtesy: www.indiatoday.in  It's been a while since I blogged; I've been busy inside and outside the office. But when a subject pops up in my head that I really feel for, it's time to hit the blog. I have time and again come across people who - for the lack of a better way to say it - just don't help. These may be people who genuinely don't want to help or people who mean well but then don't get around to doing the 'actual helping' (read lazy or nonchalant). I think I have a distaste for the latter more than the former. So I've put together a list of reasons to help you help people. Help because you can Help because it doesn't cost you anything Help because it makes you feel good (now this kind of selfishness I'm a full supporter of) Help when you know you might need a favor from the person Help even if you won't get anything in return Help with the little things or the big things Help when you know you're really g...

Last weekend, I got a unique opportunity to visit Gowardhan Cheese Factory in Manchar district, a good two hour drive from Pune city. The owning home-grown company Parag Milk Foods brand portfolio includes Gowardhan and GO boasting of a range of dairy products that have been retailed across Mumbai and Pune over the last decade. I first started using their yoghurt when the local kirana store ran out of my usual preference of Amul , Danone and Britannia . One spoon of it and I instantly found it so fresh, light and 'unprocessed'. I have always loved cheese but now I even prefer it over chocolate. So when I was scheduled to visit the GO factory, it bore semblance to winning the golden ticket and entering glistening gates to its factory much like the popular Roald Dahl 's  Charlie . Except that it was not all that dramatic! 

In this age of social media, no matter what the industry, it is in the business’ interest to have digital presence. Just maintaining presence for the sake of it is one thing, but doing a great job of it is another. Few other aviation brands are doing as good a job on social media as KLM is. Just browse through the airline’s global Facebook page . You don’t need to be a frequent flyer with the airline or a travel enthusiast or a plane spotter to enjoy their page. You simply and inevitably will enjoy it. And what is remarkable is that the brand’s social content has such a universal reach and appeal. Let us see what they are doing well and more importantly, differently. 1)       Beautiful imagery You would think seeing images of the blue KLM plane daily on Facebook would be boring. After all, the aircrafts look alike and the colours are the same. So what’s new? Well, they share some really magnificent pictures of their fleet fr...

Me on the left with the wedding drama unfolding behind me! Attending a friend's wedding is always a bitter-sweet experience I think. Bitter if you don't already sport a (very) shiny stone on your finger (or for that matter, a dashing man on your arm). Sweet, because of course you are happy your chum's 'settling down in life' (always hated that phrase - it sounds like you're compromising or something of the sort). But before I move on, I want to rewind back and explain the bitter bit better (tongue-twister not intended but also not regretted). So what makes the experience of attending a wedding when I'm not married bitter? It's when people (those you haven't seen in years) unabashedly and very righteously ask you 'what're your plans in life', a question which so skilfully masks the real query which is: 'You sorry thing, you're not yet married?'. These questions always leave me wondering a) if I should bother responding or,...

A mini-me back in the day putting lead to paper I always fancied the thought of being a writer. It seemed so...so..what's the word..intellectual. English was always my favourite subject and pretty much the only class I looked forward to during school years. While reading books, I not only enjoyed the stories and tickling my imagination but also took in the writing styles of the authors. I went quite mainstream in choosing my Bachelor's degree and studied Business Administration. Why didn't I study literature instead? No idea! I used to write for myself mostly. But then came Facebook and Facebook Notes where I started publishing my ramblings on. My friends said I penned well. With a full time job coming into the picture, the writing mostly took a back seat. Only once in a while would I find time and get the creative itch to write. But the embers of wanting to write professionally still glowed. A random browse through my Twitter timeline led me to applying for a freelan...

Nico Bombay (Image courtesy: Mumbaiboss.com) I recently spent a brief amount of time over the weekend in Mumbai, a city I previously lived in for four years, to catch up with old friends and try out new restaurants. Mumbai is big on the food scene. Restaurants pop up and fizzle out so very often, you really need to be on the ball and play catch up if you are the type to explore new dishes at new restaurants. So whilst I was at lunch with my friends at one of my favourite restaurants called 'Salt Water Cafe' in town (their honey cinnamon roasted chicken is avoidable, go for the Kingfish instead) , I was told that a new "up scale" dining spot called 'Nico' was only recently launched and the food there was "on a whole different level"  (well, at least that's what my friend claimed). So, that was that, I wanted to experience some culinary elevation. Located in Kala Ghoda, we did have to walk around a bit to find Nico. Of course we trie...