Explorer of Experiences

The mesmerizing sunset I captured from a traditional abra at the Dubai Creek. At the time of writing this post, I have completed seven months living in Dubai. In this time, I have explored so much of the city (as much as I possibly could) but there is still a whole lot waiting to be discovered. I feel like I have been here for a really long time but that speaks volumes about how easily I settled in to my new life here. If you're planning to move to Dubai, here's some essential reading just to get an initial sense of the vibe here.   1. You'll need to watch your money. Dubai has everything aspirational from the finest restaurants to the most desirable retail brands to global events. But we know experiences cost money, and can be on the slightly expensive side. Can you do without that brunch? Certainly your stomach can. Do you need that jacket? Winter isn't for another 6 months. Introspective conversations like these are good practice to avoid overspending.  ...

Reading this book has helped me so much, I feel almost compelled to share with you my learnings from Basic Black – The Essential Guide to Getting Ahead at Work (and in Life). Recently I read Basic Black, a book written by Cathie Black, now the former President of Hearst magazines. This was a book given to me by my sister nine years ago. I always promised myself that I would get around to reading it, before I knew it, it was cramped up somewhere in my drawer buried under possessions I had accumulated over almost a decade. I am thankful to my instincts that I finally decided to go ahead and read Basic Black. I couldn’t have picked it up at a better time. This year began for me with a few professional highs but also a lot of brewing uncertainties. Within ten pages of the book, I felt confident enough to shake things up and make a move and do something about my career. So what is Basic Black about? It’s an honest lay-it-all-out kind of a book by one of the most successful women l...

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...

Image source: bugbog.com Earlier this month, Sweden hit the headlines by announcing its enforcement of six hour work days . A bold move there Sweden, but definitely a welcome first-mover. The country really has shown how much it cares for its people by making this move. The idea behind this enforcement is to enable people to get more work done is less time (read increase productivity) whilst leaving them with enough time and energy in the day to pursue their personal life. I absolutely stand by it.  I have always thought that people have been made to or think they have to invest 90% of their day in work. But why? Do relationships not matter? Does putting effort in a hobby or a non-work creative pursuit not matter? Who made it mandatory to work from 9AM to 5PM? And that by the way are not the standard work hours. In India at least. Maximum companies have a 9AM start time which means your day begins at say, 7AM when you wake up, get ready and probably get some breakfast in...

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This is a picture of the Bhaktapur Darbar Square from my trip to Nepal in April 2012. Exactly three years ago. I was lucky to have visited this beautiful country and to have been witness to Kathmandu's wealth in terms of culture and heritage. As we speak, these centuries-old structures have been wiped out. The earthquake that so many feared for so many years hit Kathmandu on 25th April 2015. The death toll has been steadily on the rise and stands at 4,400 ( according to CNN ) and has left 8 million affected. As an economy which heavily depends on tourism, I want to encourage you to continue to maintain Nepal on your travel bucket list. Below, I recount some faded memories from my 2012 trip where I spent an overwhelmingly amazing trip touring Kathmandu and Pokhara.  I never anticipated Kathmandu to be the tourist-haven it is. We went shopping in Thamel, a thriving tourist hotspot, sipping on hot coffee along the way. April is peak season, so we found Kathmandu to be flocked...

I thought I'd write something special with Womens' Day just around the corner. Sometimes, you don't need to search far and wide for inspiration. It's right close to you. Look around you - a friend, a co-worker, a movie, a book, travel...inspiration can come from anywhere. In this case for me, my ever-smiling and oh-so-hardworking friend Keshia is an inspiration. And I want to share what makes her tick with you.    ‘Find something you’re passionate about and keep tremendously in it.’ This famous quote by Julia Child fits like a glove as the beginning to our interview with Chef Keshia D’souza. Currently Chef de Partie at Courtyard by Marriott Pune City Centre , she found cooking to be her passion at the tender age of eight. With over six years of experience in the kitchen, here she is in her Chef’s whites with a smile on her face and her affable personality already evident. How did your passion for cooking begin and what inspired you? I got the idea...

This article was published on The Punekar and can be viewed here .  I have been lucky enough to live in several cities over the past few years. Pune has been a particular favourite for me; I always feel home here. So I am always thinking about ways this city can be made more livable and more exciting!  1. Pop-up Restaurants Chef Gaggan If you’re a follower of the global food scene, you’ve probably heard of pop-up restaurants. Pop-ups are like wandering, nomadic restaurants and our neighbor, Mumbai, has seen quite a few of them over the past year. Case in point, Gaggan Anand of Gaggan fame (his eponymous Bangkok restaurant ranked 3 rd  on the World’s 50 Best Asian Restaurants list) set up a public tasting of his progressive Indian menu at Bandra-Kurla Complex. Needless to say, the city’s foodies were raving about it. Pune has a proud and flourishing food history too and we are sure there will be lots of takers of such pop-ups. 2. Dedicated Public Ope...

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...

  You were not mine to have. But you did not whine to be with me. You were not liked and called ugly by many. But you were a happy sight for me.  You were always ready and on time. Even though we were often early. You got stuffed. You got crushed. Yet you signified freedom to me. You were heavy for me, my shoulders ached. But you knew we were in this together. You accompanied me on my solitary journeys. Even though not a word was uttered from you to me. You played my comfy pillow on the bus. And a blanket in freezing air-conditioning for me. You got wet in the rain and mucky from the mud. But kept all my things spotless clean for me. You got sewn and zipped back up in repair. And still you never gave up on me. You haven't been carried in a while by me. Dusty, in my cupboard you lie patiently. You are always ready to be picked up. For that, I owe you so very much. 

I have been itching to write this post. I have met a lot of people especially in my work life who have pretty much been the same, work style wise. Very few have stood out. To make a mark, for me personally or professionally, three things immediately crop into my head. These are my so call ' mantras ', and they work. They will not only make your life easier, but will also create a strong impression of you with other people. Don't procrastinate Image courtesy: www.businessmindsetexpert.com Leaving things to do for later is a bad, bad idea. It takes time to get things off your check-list  but it takes only few seconds for another ten or thirteen things to get added to that to do list. I always list my things to do in terms of priority. But what works for me is to get those things done which would hardly take any time. So that gives me the chance of scratching that item off my list. And it's sheer pleasure when I make pencil strokes across that completed item. ...