Explorer of Experiences

These book cafes make sure that Pune’s reading culture doesn’t die out. The rise in cafes dedicated to their love for books as much as food is a reassurance that reading as a passion is still alive. Pune’s bookworms have quite a few options where they can sit in a cosy corner and enjoy flipping pages of their favourite books while snuggling up to a hot cuppa. Pagdandi Book Cafe, Baner, Pune Pagdandi – Books/Chai/Café ,  Baner When you have a backpacker and a yoga teacher bringing together their entrepreneurial minds, what you get is Pagdandi. The cafe has a library, comfortable mattresses to sit on, a small cafe space and board games if you want a break from reading. Live acoustic jams, storytelling circles and open mic are hosted regularly to bring together a group of aspiring writers. Their  kahwa  and hot chocolate with marshmallows are highly recommended. You can also tuck in a bowl of hot Wai Wai while reading your favourite book. Cafe Nook Café N...

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...

Don't you wish you could go back in time just to truly appreciate where you were and what you were doing with your time then? I ponder about this sometimes. I spent two years in Melbourne. That city was a treat food-wise. I tried so many new things, experienced so many new flavours! Narrow lanes used to be dotted with little quaint cafes and the fruit and vegetable market lined with food carts, and it used to be but a pleasure to walk by, trying these treats on a free day.  Chinatown in Melbourne (image courtesy: www.victoria.aussietrueblue.com) But of course every major city has to have its very own Chinatown, Melbourne included. We had a community kitchen in the lodge we stayed at. Every night after classes, the group of Chinese girls and guys used to collectively cook in the kitchen - sharing their sauces and veggies, and thereafter eating together. Laughter from the kitchen echoed into the halls and I used to envy the sense of togetherness they experienced over food!...

So, I wrote this 'Note' on Facebook back in April 2010 , when Blackberry was cool. Funny, how I look back on my notes and the world seems to have changed so much. For us and for one unfortunate company called 'Blackberry'.  17th January. My birthday. I held in my hands my first ever surprise gift sent by my beloved parents. Courtesy a 'slip-of-the-tongue' episode with my excited father, I already knew what lay inside the box. So, lacking the eagerness one usually displays in the process of unwrapping presents, I casually opened the box to reveal a Blackberry! It was THE Blackberry only the entire world was quickly becoming obsessed with! Beautiful and black, my new phone rested beside me as I sighed and wondered what I am going to do with it. Before you think how crazy that just sounded, let me explain. The world consists of two kinds of people - the 'technologically sophisticated' and the 'technologically challenged'. I belong to th...

Decisions.  People debate whether you 'take' or 'make' decisions. I care little about that. What interests me more are 'decisions' - what makes us take them, why we take them and under what circumstances. So many times, we are faced with a dilemma - we can go either this way or that . And we will never completely know which one will ultimately be the right one for us. We only know if we make a choice and take the plunge. Time will then tell. Eventually, you may prove to be right with what you decided or if luck's not in your favour, you may end up not being happy with the decision you made. In a situation like that we may think, why didn't we choose the other path? But hey it's always easy to say 'what if'. Regrets come to us very easily. But I repeat unless, you live your decision you will never completely know. So why ponder over what could have been when all we have with us is where we are now.  It's a constant battle. We just ha...