Expressions

When living in India, one cannot escape the spiritual essence small towns and cities offer. However, people look for some other activities as well when exploring a new place. Nashik is modern mix of holiness and rich leisurely experience wrapped into one - holy for its spiritual history and serene experience it enriches you with. Leisurely affair because of all the wine tasting hobby you can develop here :) Here is my brief recap of my travel experience and things to explore in Nashik! Nashik is a well known ancient holy city situated at the northwestern side of Maharashtra and is hugely popular amongst Hindu devotees as it hosts the MahaKumbh Mela  - largest religious gathering every 12 years. There is a huge temple complex right in middle of the old Nashik city and lies on the banks of river Godavari. All references in Ramayana of Nashik like Panchavati can be found here in temples.  In fact, there are certain temples which open only during Kumbh i.e. every 12 years

So close to the hustle bustle of one of India's busiest cosmopolitan, Mumbai, lies an abode truly rustic, hardly explored, majestic in its full glory during monsoons is small hill station Bhandardara. Why to go? Living up to its name, a valley of treasures, Bhandardara is an excellent choice to unwind over a long weekend. Surrounded all sides by huge mountains, including Mt. Kalsubai, the highest peak of Maharashtra, and lakes in the middle- Bhandardara is a treat for eyes. There are hikes and trails nestled in every nook and corner, rainfalls coming into the view while driving, greenery at its utmost best and above all, a very tranquil environment for re-invigoration. What to see?: There are a lot of attractions apart from soakinng in the all the beauty around and seeking visual pleasures. There are water bodies like Wilson dam, Arthur lake and Randha falls where locals come for picnics on holidays,  hikes for panoramic view Kalsubai, Ghatghar, Ratnagad fort. Sandhan val

The thrill of decorating a new home is like painting an empty canvas. I had numerous visits to the furniture stores in that month. We had to fit in pieces of dining table, beds, wardrobes and sofa-sets to convert our flat to livable space. And I was so excited. Shopping for furniture means choosing a long term partner for your house. Different shapes and sizes of sofa sets were talking to me through the shop windows. A shining black leather recliner winking at me from a distance and alluring me to take him home. A covered cloth sofa sets in bright summer colors offering a competition to palette. They even adorned flashy and digitally printed cushion covers with ditsy celebrity faces or artistic Buddha pictures to add to the glamour. I was attracted to one of such bright blue fabric sofas. Italian making. While I was engrossed in feeling the fabric of this newly found gem, my husband on the other hand spotted a meek wooden sofa in the corner. In the world of modern architectur

Apu was an average Indian teenager. He had grown up in a small town in the heart of India – Madhya Pradesh. He was a perfect example of majority section of boys of his age – shy and clumsy, nervous and excited, hopeful and dreamy. Apu had just entered college. He attended his classes, tried to stay away from girls (but in vain) and did best efforts to be a sincere boy. Like others, Apu also had wishful view of college life – how the days could be spent loitering around, how to find friends for lifetime while doing all the illegal and exciting adolescent activities, bunking classes for a movie, being mindless about future, studying only enough to remember pointers to elaborate all the technicalities in the exam. How almost perfect life is in college; Apu had imagined same for himself. Unfortunately, life can never walk on a straight line. There are bound to be twists and turns created due to God’s free style longhand strokes on our canvases. Tragedy struck. Apu’s mother

As a daughter in law there are numerous expectations and responsibilities reserved for you at your in laws' place. In my personal case, my husband's family stay in a quaint town of Palampur untouched by the metro life under the foot hills of Himalayas in Himachal Pradesh. And as I had decided to voluntarily take a break from my usual job grind, a grand opportunity of staying with  my in laws for a period of 20 days lay ahead. A first of its kind of experience for me in my marriage of 2 years, I reluctantly grabbed it with hope and anticipation, since I had received mixed reviews from my friends who had vivid stories to tell from their In-Laws' visit, some not so very pleasant. So I also had my share of things to experience when visiting in-laws. Here is a brief of the tits and bits of what I learnt and experienced from this memorable trip - 1. When you stay at someone else's house (well technically it was mine, but I was visiting for holidays), there is a huge contra