#Immunity4Growth Indibloggers Meet!!!

I am back from a short(too short to be precise) trip to Bangalore, Chikamagalur and Hassan. A week long trip, where I got to be part of a blogger's meet, travelled around and had fun time with family and friends. I have got lucky since last couple of my trips to Bangalore. While during my last visit got to be part of Indiblogger's OYO campaign, this time it was for #Immunity4Growth Bloggers meet to get insight about micro-nutrients. 

I reached Bangalore by 2 in the afternoon and managed to reach Taj Vivanta at MG Road for the meet. I was quite on time and the meet had just begun with bloggers introduction.  

 Strong Inside      Growth Outside

To start on with the Immunity talk, Jill Castle, a nutrition expert, a mother and a blogger herself introduced to micro-nutrients. As per Jill, vegetarian diet, lack of affordability to dairy products, influence of western junk food are amongst few of the reasons for lack of micro-nutrients in Indian kids. 

Better Nutrition as per Jill: 

At family level - 

1. Include variety in diet for kids to love the food - wider variety better nutrition.

2. A kitchen garden - grow your food to get better nutrition, include your kids in gardening, they would love to eat the veges nurtured by them.

3. Include kids in cooking, they would enjoy cooking their own meal.

4. Mixed grains offer better micro-nutrients, include grains, beans and cereals in the diet.

At School level - 

1. School should promote healthy food.

2. School should promote health checkups.

Micro Nutrient Rich Food  -----> Better Immunity ----> Better Growth

Then was the presentation by Mr. Amaan  Khan, how presented on the health stats. 

IMRB Survey Results:

1. 30% of children miss school for more than 5 days due to illness

2. 82% mothers feel that weak immunity has repercussions on a child in long run.

3. Mother claim their child falls sick 4 times a year and for 11 days a year.

4. 13% of children have missed an exam due to illness.

5. Mothers claim to spend an average amount of 850INR monthly of Pediatric medicine.

Through the panel discussion the group of team Horlicks, Jill Castle and Nutrition experts discussed more on nutrition and answered blogger's questions. 

Horlicks has also come up with their website www.nutrimeter.horlicks.in where parents can measure child's micro nutrient consumption on day to day basis and better their diet to make them, taller stronger and sharper.

Horlicks claims to be India's No. 1 Health Drink with 2X immuno-nutrients, clinically proven to make children 

Taller           Stronger            Sharper

To end the session was group photograph and each of us carried home 2 packs of Horlicks Classic Malt pack.

Explore Indian History, Heritage, Culture and Food Through EPIC and #TATASkyTransfer!!!

Off late I hardly watched TV till one fine day I came across EPIC channel. I had come across their posters, at most of the places around the city during their launch in last November, but never did I check it out on TV. Ever since I started watching it, my whole family has become fond of the channel, and its very rare that we even switch to other channels. 

For those who love to explore History, Heritage, Culture and Food of India,  this is one of the channels, you shouldn't miss. 

Travel: While Sanrachna takes you to different monuments of India, highlighting their architectural significance, Ekaant takes to the ruins of the historical places, majestic states of their time which have lost their significance. And Kahi Suni, takes you to the religious places, narrating the stories from the past, be it to Mathura, narrating Lord Krishna's childhood or Kurukshetra, with the battle between the Pandavas and Kauravas.

Food: Raja Rasoi and Anya Kahaniyaan, one of my favourite shows, for it includes travel as well. An awesome narration of food from different states in each episode, with its history and origin. Lost recipes, as the name says, a cookery show from different parts of the country, with recipes which have lost their existence off late.

Facts: EPIC ke Dus, a superbly crafted show, with handpicked top tens of the country, be it the Novels of India, or the top Indian Brands, or the top ten love stories or top revolutions which made an impact on the Indian History. Made in India, is yet another series, which highlights world's top products or service, which originated in India, but the country has lost the patent. To name a few are Sushruta Samhita, the text on medicine and surgery written years back even before the Western countries knew about Medicine or the board games like Ludo which originated from our own Pachisi. Through short videos on the series on EPIGRAMS, they showcase the origin of different products, be it Saffron or tea, coffee or chilly and their arrival to India. Awesome narration, beautiful animations everything makes it a perfect show.

History: Rakkt and Adrishya, non fiction series on Indian history. A must watch show if you are interested in History of the country.

Through their three new shows, Stories by Rabindranath Tagore, Jaane Pehchaane with Javed Akhtar and Mid Wicket Tales with Naseeruddin Shah, the channel has stepped into Indian Cinema, Indian Cricket and Series on Gurudev's Novels.

If all my narration tempted you to watch EPIC channel and you are worried you wouldn't be able to make time to watch them at home, then worry not, try out #TATASkyTransfer. Record, transfer, carry your favourite TV shows, wherever you go. Check out EPIC channel on TATA Sky HD Channel 133.

A Healthy Child makes a Healthy Home!!

Do you cage your kid back home just because its raining outside? Do you worry to plan your winter vacation just because you are not sure of your kid's health and want to keep them safe at home? Or you don't want to have your A/C ON whole night, because you are worried of your kid waking up in the morning with running nose or chocked throat by the chilled air? If you are one of such parents and if you are looking something for your kid to immune them with, then Dabur Chyawanprash is going to come for your rescue. Its just not how much your kid weighs, its how healthy he/she is. As long as you keep them healthy from with-in, non of the external sources can effect your kid's health. 

Its so said in history that our ancestors lived for 100s of years, with no signs of aging and bad health. Ayurveda, was a boon to good health for ages. The ancient system of Indian medicine helped people to stay healthy from with-in, which reflected in their lifestyle. With the ages passing by, the food, water and environment started to get contaminated and so was a change in the lifestyle, which had its impact on the health. The impact got added up from generation to generation. And with the revolution in the industrialization and modernization, the impact got multiplied, in last few decades.
At present competitive world, though we can't get the lifestyle back, which our ancestors lead, we can definitely make changes in our eating habits, which would help us maintain our health. So all you have to do is include 1 spoon(half a spoon twice a day) of Dabur Chyawanprash in your kids diet. Dabur Chyawanprash is scientifically proven to provide 3 times immunity that helps fight virus, flu and infections, its a trusted remedy for cough and cold for a majority of Indian household. Its magnificent brew of Ayurvedic herbs strengthens the body’s natural defence mechanism by stimulating your NK cells (Natural Killer Cells). NK cells assist in fighting with virus and bacteria in your body, thus giving us increased immunity from various infections. And of-course you need not run behind your little brat to feed them, as Dabur's exciting flavours like mango and mixed fruits, will leave your kid, mouth watering and wanting for more.
So no more caging your kid back home, let your kid enjoy childhood and Dabur Chyawanprash will take care of the rest, a healthy body and mind. So, don't you think the Dabur Chyawanprash is just not keeping your kid healthy, but the whole family, now that you are able to plan your winter vacations and also have a sound sleep in the night with your A/C on.

This is part of a campaign by Dabur Chyawanprash and Indiblogger.

My Journey as a (Travel)Blogger

It was 2 years back during my search for Navratri Bombe themes for celebration at home, did I come across Anuradha Shankar's blog. The blog inspired me, it inspired me to start a blog of my own, to showcase and share my thoughts. I got in touch with so many people from different walks of life, travelers, bloggers, activists, naturalists and on. Then were few from across the globe, who commented on my work and the treasure I shared, on my blog with them. The treasure of India, its heritage, culture, festivity. Their comments, changed my perception towards travel, exploring places and made me get close to my own culture and realize how stupid we are, when we run behind international trips, while we have lots and lots to explore in or own country. 

"....

You need to remember that people travel halfway across the world to see parts of your country or State, and I guarantee there are exciting attractions and areas you are yet to discover. We’re so quick to jump on a longhaul flight to get to that exotic destination, but what about the National Park down the road from you? The pristine white beaches an hour away? Short escapes are often the best kind!” – Megan  (Courtesy http://www.drinkteatravel.com/dont-quit-your-job-to-travel/)

And then I came across those people, who had explored India much more than me, even not being an Indian. One such person was Sharell. An Australian by birth, Sharell first visited India in 2000, after her several visits, presently she is married to an Indian and settled in Mumbai. If not on any other blogs, you would definitely find a blogpost on every Indian festival on her blog. This is what she has to say,

"I've managed a guesthouse in the beach town of Varkala in Kerala, worked on the set of a Bollywood movie near Manali, driven an auto rickshaw from Chennai to Mumbai, ridden a yak in Spiti, and dined with the royal family of Udaipur at their palace. I've also survived getting bitten by a monkey in Rishikesh, a bout of malaria, and numerous encounters with the infamous Indian bureaucracy, with sanity kept (mostly!) intact. In addition, I fell so much in love with all things Indian that I even married an Indian guy"

 

Thats Sharell at City Palace, Udaypur

Don't these instances, make you sit and think for a while, should we run behind visiting busy metros or visit the treasures our own country has to offer.

This is part of More Indian Than you Think by Indiblogger and Lufthansa http://bit.ly/MITYTIndiblogger

PS: Thank you Sharell, for all your support, to make this post so wonderful.

Garnier BB Cream Review

Recently, I received Garnier BB Cream for review by Indiblogger.

How is it a Miracle Skin Protector?
The Garnier BB Cream just not moisturizes but also gives you a Fairer looking and healthy glow to your skin. Its properties of reducing lines and imperfections, maintaining smoothness and even skin tone, makes it a miracle skin protector. The Cream has SPF 24 UVA/UVB Protection, which acts as a perfect sunscreen.
How does this miracle work?
The Garnier BB Cream contains Vitamin C derivative known to have antioxidant properties, which helps boost skin glow and brightness. The mineral pigments, of BB Cream beautifies your skin. It instantly spreads evenly for a flawless finish. Its light-weight and comfortable texture blends perfectly into the skin and lets your skin breathe. It is a 8H moisturizing formula with Almond extract. Its SPF24 filter protects skin from UV.
How to Apply:
Spread the BB Cream like your regular moisturizer. Apply with light circular strokes from the middle of your face outwards on perfectly cleansed skin.

My take on Garnier BB Cream: Having an oil based skin, all that I look for in my daily cream is, which moisturizes my skin, while maintaining my face oil free. Here is how Garnier worked on my oily face for my routine,
For daily routine: Just a small amount of Garnier BB Cream blended perfectly, worked as a daily moisturizer.
For my travels: I used the cream for a day long blogger event to a near by hill station. The cream maintained my skin's moisture, while protecting me from the day long soak in sun(literally). I used it in the morning and applied a layer after a face wash in the afternoon.

Soaking in the sun at the backwaters of Vaitarna Lake

For my parties: And if you are a person like me, who doesn't like using foundation for your party make-ups, Garnier BB Cream with a perfect compact gives you a glowing party look. I used for one of the parties the other day teaming with my compact powder. The cream perfectly blended into my skin and gave it a fairer and healthy look.

The pack of 18g comes at Rs. 119(introductory price of Rs.99), which is just a perfect travel pack and handy to go in your hand bag.

PS: The BB Cream suits almost all skin tones. Garnier uses, active natural ingredients which have been carefully extracted to preserve their quality and purity. And their products are dermatological tested to ensure respect to skin.

This is part of a Champaign by Indiblogger and L'Oreal India Private Limited.

#Wordup blogger's meet powered by BigRock and Indiblogger

Date: 20 September, 2014

Venue: BlueFrog, Mathuradas Mills Compound, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel, Mumbai

Website: http://www.bigrock.in/ 

Indiblogger meets are always fun, but this was different, a day dedicated to blogging, talks about blogging, vlogging, SEO, Monetization, creative writing and more.
The event was at BlueFrog in Lower Parel, oh man one of the most happening places in Mumbai and when I told hubby about the venue, he was like, THE BlueFrog!!! The event was a full day event scheduled for a Saturday. Left home early to reach on time, registered for the early 50's, yes they had a Moto G for one of the first 50 registers. Joined few of the fellow bloggers. Then was the official registeration at the Indiblogger and Bigrock registration desks, where we were handed over a bag full of goodies.After the breakfast, the event started off with a rock band by Inditeam, to break the morning blues and gear us up for a packed day full of talks on blogging.

Rock band by Inditeam

We were introduced to Bigrock the sponsor of the event. Who else is familiar to Domain, hosting and websites than bloggers. As a blogger we are always behind traffic to our blog and yes we know a blog with domain name always attracts more traffic.

Here is what Bigrock has to say,
"BigRock is a leading provider of web-presence solutions to small-businesses, professionals and individuals. We provide our clients a complete suite of products that help them establish & grow their online presence. Our product portfolio includes - domain registration, business-class email services (including anti-spam & anti-virus features), web-hosting services, website builder products, e-commerce solutions and digital certificates. Our product platform represents 10+ years of investment in technology R&D and powers over 6 million domains."
The talk session started with Mr. Vinit Goenka. Mr. Goenka a National Co-Convener for the BJP’s Information Technology Cell, who has been working to create synergies between the industry and government, spoke on how BJP has been using technology in including public in policy making and governance.

Amit Agarwal, the blogger's guru gave us blogging tips. On how to play with our content, blog template and more to get more hits.
Anshul Tewari, founder and editor-in-chief of YouthKiAwaaz.com shared his journey from blogger to journalist. And how to promote our blogs on social media.
Lakshmi Rebecca's session started off with a short documentary from her talk show, 'Chai with Lakshmi' on planting Urban Forests adapting Japanese Miyawaki method, the video was so thought provoking and made us think of our environment.
After her brief intro, Lakshmi had her talk with Sunit Singh, the master mind behind the design of cleartrip.

Lakshmi Rebecca's talk with Sunit Singh

Next session was by Varun Krishnan, imagine a person ending up buying every phone which makes to the market, yes, he is such, the Founder of FoneArena.com, on his mission to find the perfect phone. FoneArena.com has been delivering latest news and updates on mobile phones. Varun Krishnan spoke on blog monetization, on how you can turn your writing into earning.
Shree Krishna Chepuri spoke on the Legal aspects of blogging. On how you could play safe with your words legally, especially when in comes to leaders and politics.
The post lunch session started with Harsh Agarwal. Harsh Agarwal, who blogs at ShoutMeLoud, spoke on SEO, how key words, tags are important in your blog posts to guide the search engine to your blog.

Speakers busy clicking selfie

Next two sessions were by two gorgeous bloggers, Scherezade Shroff and Snigdha Manchanda. Scherezade Shroff, manage her Youtube channel, uploads beauty and fashion videos, make-up and hair tutorials and DIYs. Snigdha founder of Teatruck and Story Ninja, is a creative writer and an entrepreneur, providing people with good quality tea. While Sherezade Shroff, shared on how a simple video with your heart out, could get you a huge subscribers, Snigdha kept us engrossed with her story weaving skills.
Then was the stand-up comedy by Bhavish Ailani.

The day which started with a big bang by Inditeam's rock, ended with a rock band and group photograph. 

Hey, the goodie bag had a Free hosting and a .ME domain coupon valid for 1 year too. Can't wait to get my blog a domain name soon.

Beauty has an Address - Oman

"Hey, where are you heading to, this Eid Holidays?"

"To Musandam, and you?

"Me, to Salalah.."

This used to be the topic of our lunch hour chit-chats, at my office in Dubai. Oman which shares border with UAE, was an easy option for short weekend drives or a long tour from Dubai. Musandam and Salalah were the only places I had heard(and been) of Oman, let alone Muscat the capital city. Only now, Oman Tourism introduced me to lot more than these places.

Collage of pics from my tour to Musandam and Salalah

Have been experienced camp fires on the beach, raced with dolphins while cruising on a traditional Dhow, diving and snorkeling in deep seas at Musandam and been enjoyed the beauty of Wadi Darbat(a Oasis in the desert), been spotted Flamingos at Khawr Rawri, during my visit to Dhofar(for Khareef Festival), its time for me to explore the unseen(by me) Oman, if I get to visit this country again.

Dolphins racing with our dhow in Khasab, Musandam

Collage of pics from my tour to Musandam and Salalah

My tour of Oman would start with exploring the capital of Oman, magical Muscat. A tour of historic Muscat, with a visit to its Forts Al-Jalali and Al- Mirani, and museums, Museum of Omani Heritage, National Museum of Oman, Oman children's Museum al Zubair, Omani French museum, Sultan's Armed Forces Museum. Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque is another in my, to visit list.

Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque(Image source Wikipedia)

Al Jalali Fort(Image source Wikipedia)

Would like to visit Ras Al Jinz, to watch Turtles. To feel how the heavy mother, which struggles to protect its egg in the sands and the new born struggling for survival, till it reaches the water. 

Turtle watch(Image source Oman Tourism)

Rocks Park(Image source Oman Tourism)

Visit to Oman is incomplete without a visit to  Rocks Park in Al Wasta. Naturally sculptured rocks in the shape of animals, birds and human parts, leaves visitor mesmerized by natures creation.Deserts Safari is a must do thing when you are in a dessert country. At Bawshar Sands, would love to go for a thrilling dessert drive and a climb to the top of the hill to enjoy sunset.

Desert Safari(Image source Oman Tourism)

Traditional Souk(Image source Oman Tourism)

No tour is complete without shopping and tasting local cuisine. Gulf is well known for its traditional souks(markets), a visit to souk to shop traditional Omani artefacts as souvenirs and the staple fruit of Gulf, the yummy dates. And with the holy month of Ramadan on, tasting Shakana is a must. And how could I miss Leben, my fav drink from Gulf, which I have been missing after leaving Dubai for good.

Courtesy Oman Tourism

My tour to Oman would be a combination of culture, heritage, nature and adventure.
PS: This is part of #BeautifulOman by Oman Tourism and Indiblogger.

Yes, Car(Drive) and Connect(Travel) go together !!!

My hubby is fascinated of driving, he started his motor blog too, few years back, but with no time to update, its lying with few of his posts on automobile and auto-shows. And me being a travel freak, both our interests go together. He enjoys his drive and me my tours. Though we are still to plan a long trip by our car, the so called long drives we have covered is Mumbai to Bangalore, Dubai(UAE) to Musandam(Oman), keeping apart, few weekend destinations from Mumbai and Bangalore. With our daughter's academic calender out for the year, our travel plans too start for the whole year as per her vacation. And hubby plans his leaves. So a perfect tour does need a good planning.

Car Connect, so as it called is all about Cars and Connect(connecting you to cars or connecting different places through drives), for all those travel freaks, who love driving.

Cars: The website updates you with Car News and Car Launch, keeping you updated with everything going on in the automobile world. The best feature which I like is Compare Cars, if you are planning to buy a new car and still in the dilemma of choosing the better one, this feature helps you. Just enter the two car details and their expert team will guide you with the features of both cars, accordingly you can choose your pick as per your requirements. Also you can find the reviews of cars from fellow uses, which makes your choice easier.

Car description, feature along with links to reviews of the compared car

Connect: This section is the one of my interests. A place, you get to read travel  experience. Planning your trip and searching travel destination becomes more easier with Car Connect. Select your start point under Long Drive, you will get a list of travel guides shared by fellow travelers. Share your travel experience with Car Connect friends. They award you too, with fancy badges, to flaunt on your profile. Share more to grab more badges. Invite your facebook friends to read your travel experience. You also have Chat Room to chat with Carconnect members and expert team, to get instant advice.

My Car Connect Profile

Scope of Improvement of the website:

• More options to log into your Car Connect account, with email id or twitter account, as the only option now is with your Facebook account. 

Happy Driving and Sharing, with Car Connect!!!

This is a review of Car Connect

My Beautiful Food!!

Its wedding season and I always envy my mom when she says, she has a list of wedding parties lined up for the month. Being away from home, I always miss those parties not just for the occasion I get to flaunt myself in party wears, but also for the yummy South Indian cuisines. The perfect blend of sweet, sour, spicy dishes spread over banana leaf. For me, only time of the year when I get to enjoy such food is either during my visit to native or during Onam, when few of my mallu friends invite us for Onam Sadya. The beautiful food for me is a dish filled with a variety of salads(chickpeas salad, sweet corn and pomogranate salad, beans salad and so on) and desserts(kheer(which is mandatory) and a list of sweet dishes) round the banana leaf, follows the main course, variety rice(tamrind rice/ bisibele bath, lemon rice and the list goes on), followed by rice with rasam, and rice with yoghurt curry, rice with sambar and finally rice with buttermilk. The feast ends with fruits salad and Paan. In a metro like Mumbai, where its really tough to find banana leaves, serving this in a trendy Leaves-Fidenza dinner set would just be icing on the cake.

And yes of course my little one likes contemporary cuisine, served in style. Her listing of dishes for her birthday starts much before her day. This is her perfect party menu, assorted cup cakes on beautiful Platter, another platter with her favorite creamy spinach corn tart canapes and kiwi cream canapes, tortilla chips with cheese dip in beautiful Chip and Dip Dish, Watermelon and Strawberry lemonade in perfect tumblers

This is my entry for the contest "My Beautiful Food" by Borosil and indiblogger.

Come, Join Hands with Dabur to Make India An Immune Country..

As mothers the most important topic on our social media groups is kid's health. During monsoons I find one or the other kid in the group is absent to school, and when I went through my daughter's medical records, the last time she visited her doc was 6 months back. How could I maintain such neat record of hers? 

As a preterm baby, she really needed some special care to boost her health and immunity. There is well known proverb, you are what you eat. Instead might be its what you live: what you intake, what you inhale, how much you sleep. Thats, those who indulge in regular routine and have healthy diet maintain good health, conversely who maintain irregular routine and unbalanced diet are found to suffer from ill health.

But its not easy to have a regular routine and balanced diet for a 4year old kid. She being a fuzzy eater, I was always worried about her health and immunity. Must say, I tried everyway to make her have healthy diet. Few of my freinds suggested me to cut vegetables and fruits in interesting shapes, so that she could get tempted of having them. Some adviced to mash the vegetables, so that she couldn't remove them from her dish, but nothing worked. The only thing which came to my survival was Dabur Chyawanprash.

If you try to get little deeper into Ayurvedic studies on immunity, as per Ayurveda, Ojas, which is the ultimate product of what you have and which exists in each and every cell of your body is considered to be vital in the defensive mechanism of the body.

As per Ayurveda immunity is classified into:

* Congenital or Natural: inherited by parents

* Time, season, age: its said the immune power is higher during early morning, spring and youth than in evening, summer and old age. And also climatic condition, its said places with abundance of water, cool and pleasant climatic conditions contribute to stronger immunity. Now I realise why my cousin always said, Mumbai was better place to stay than Bengaluru(no offense to Bengalureans).

* Acquired: This can be classified into rejuvenating, exercise and adapting to wholesome substances.

While you don't have any control on the first two, its the last one where in you can influence your immunity by adapting a healthy living. 

Dabur Chyawanprash: Papa, Mumma and kiddo packs

Dabur Chyawanprash, has the ingradients that help strengthen the immune system,

 Ashwagandha: It has antistress, anti  oxidant and immunomodulatory properties

 Guduchi: It has anti oxidant, immunomodulatory and hep to provide strength. It act as rejuvenator too.

 Satavari: It helps to promote general health. Improves memory and found benicifial for eyes.

 Bala: It has anti oxidant properties and acts as strength promoter.

 Vidarikand: Acts as a rejuvenator.

Its these properties which keep my little one in good health and help her grow naturally.

Being immune just doesn't mean increased resistance against deseases, it also increases the working and exertion capacity, and a power to adjust the body according to the forcefullness of the medicine. Even though adults are better immune than kids, Chyawanprash help adults with its antistress and rejuvenating properties and increased workability. So, now its our whole family who proudly endorse Dabur Chyawanprash.

Exploring Sanjay Gandhi National Park

Recently on a lazy Sunday morning, we went on exploring Yeoor, in Sanjay Gandhi National Park.

The national park has a great treasure of flora and fauna. The up hill climb encounters you with lined up trees, with botanical names on them.

 Few warning boards here and there about the wild encounters in the forest

A Crater lake

Artifical nesting places for birds during hot summer

Yeoor is known for its panthers and wildlife. There are many villages inhabited by Varli tribes. There is also Indian Air Force station located here. What a journey it was amidst the wilds and greens!!!
This is an entry for the contest 'I Am Explorer', sponsored by Tata Safari Strome.

Nostalgic Frangrances that Bond Hubby, Me and Dubai

"Smell your way for a better mood"

How exactly do we smell and how does any smell or fragrance effect our mood?

Each day we breathe in over 23,040 times and inhale over 238 cubic feet of air. Each breath floods our smell receptors with inforamation about the environment. Smells of pleasure, awareness, danger, sexual attraction. Smell has a powerful effect on behavior. Certain smells brighten our moods and lift our spirits, like the smell of a good cup of coffee. And some other find repulsive and alert us of danger.

An exotic perfume or the smell of your lover's skin can lead to intimacy and romance while other scents bring a sense of calm and make us feel at home.

Few fragrances leave you nostalgic down the lane of life. Here are few of my nostalgic frangrances.

My Wedding Gift Box from Hubby: We had a long gap between our engagement and wedding and as my hubby was working in Dubai, we didn't get to meet till the wedding day. On the wedding day he gifted me with a gift box filled with loads of memories. The box was filled with potpourri, a handbag, a perfume bottle, a photo album which had a collection of photographs of we both, and our wedding ring. Its been 6years now and still that fragrance just can not wave off from my mind, each time I open the box, the frangrance takes me to THE big day, when we started our journey of life together.  

Diwali celebrations: After wedding we stayed in Dubai for few years. When you are away from your motherland, you tend to be more bonded with all the traditions and culture of your place. During festive seasons all Indian shops are flooded with pooja material and Indian gifts. As in India, Diwali is celebrated for 5 days and thats the time when all your Indian attires come out of your cupboards. Family and friends get together for celebrations. The frangrance of the scented candles and fragrance sticks remind me of our Diwali celebrations in Dubai.

Perfume stalls and Shopping Malls: Dubai or any arabic country for that matter are known for their perfumes, they have specific streets which are lined up with perfume shops. Perfume, which is known as Attar in Arabic is considered to be one of the most treasured of material possessions. My Attar reminds me of those shopping malls and streets of Dubai which smell perfumes.

 This is an entry for the contest Smelly to Smiley by Indiblogger, sponsered by Ambi pur.

Exploring Lakshadweep

A perfect trip would be one which would not only be wonderful for exploring but also perfect to your pocket. Recently me and my hubby were planning for some budget trip and came across Lakshadweep. A place as wonderful as Andaman and Nicobar and Maldives, but yet at comparitively lesser cost. I started working on this trip.
Lakshadweep which means hundred thousand islands, forms the smallest Union Territory of India. Main Islands are Kavaratti, Kalpeni, Minicoy, Kadmat, Agatti and Bangaram. 


A beach at Kavaratti, Lakshadweep(photo credit wikipedia)

Our journey would be, by train from Mumbai to Cochin, Cruise journey to and from Cochin to islands of Lakshadweep, and by air from Cochin to Mumbai. There are tourist packages which offer tour of all the Islands, but we would prefer to explore ourselves.



MV Amindivi 001(Photo credit wikipedia)

We would take the cruise from Cochin to Kavaratti, we would go for a home stay at local residence, which would help us understand their tradition and culture better. Visit Jamnath, Mohidden and Urja mosques, which belongs to 17th century.



Urja Mosque(photo credit official Lakshawdeep site)

And Museum which houses multi coloured species of fishes, small shark, sea cucumbers, octopus, schools of fishes and anemonnes. Spend the evening along the snow white coral sands, tasting the Malabar cuisines. Next morning scuba diving and snorkelling at Chicken neck point and have a ride in the glass bottom boat to have a tour of rich marine life and extraordinary corals.



Coral(photo credit Lakshadweep Tourism)

Visit Agatti Island, which offers blue lagoons, coral reefs and swaying palms and have a sea excursion to neighbouring uninhabited islands Parali, Thinnakara and Kalpitty. And back to Kavaratti.

Take ferry to Minicoy the next day, Minicoy too has mesmerizing sceneries and serene spots. Visit Juma Masjid and Light house, which was built by British in 1885. Surrounded by blue waters, its an important centre for tuna canning, tuna fishing, colourful boats. And this is the only Island which is open for foreign tourist.



Light house in Minicoy

Travel to Kalpeni, visit Juma Mosque, watch Parichakkali and Kolkali dance shows. Visit one of its Islands Pitti, which is a bird sanctury and attracts thousands of Terns including brown noddy, lesser crested tern and greater crested tern. Pitti is also an important breeding place for sea turtles.  

Folk dance(photo credit Lakshadweep Tourism)

Take cruise back from Kalpeni to Cochin. And our flight to Mumbai from Cochin.

This is a Virtual Tour created as an entry for the contest Creating Happy Travellers by Indiblogger, sponsored by Yatra.com