6 Places I'd Love to Visit

Continuing with The 10 Day YOU Challenge series, I arrive today with a list of six places I absolutely love to visit. Now a place needn't necessarily mean a city or a country. And yeah, the title is kind of a misnomer, given that the places I'm thinking of are not necessarily the ones I would like to visit in the future, but also the ones that I love to visit often. You'll understand better once you read my six favorite places. Here goes:

1. Kashmir. It is better known as Paradise on Earth. But that's not the only reason why I love it - there's more.
For instance, Kashmir is the most perfect combination of water, plains and mountains. The peace and tranquility one experiences, sailing on a Shikara on the Dal lake - it's otherworldly. Visit the place and bask in the beauty. Get cornered by a Kashmiri cloth vendor on the street trying to sell you his wares. Look at lovely little Kashmiri girls clutching their books, going to school. Stay on a house boat on the Dal Lake, sit in solitude out on the verandah in the evening and look at the sun going down behind the Himalayas. Sheer bliss.

2. Ancient Monuments and Forts. As I mentioned earlier, history transfers me to another, totally novel world. A world distant from the city's rush, pollution, the callousness of people and their indifferent ways. Sitting amid ancient dilapidated structures with a profound history behind each wall, each arch - it is eternally transcendental. For me, the feeling is overpowering and cannot be paralleled by any other.

That's an amateurish shot of the Bada Darwaza (main entrance) of the Purana Quila (Old Fort) in Delhi on a particularly bright sunny afternoon. I am a photography enthusiast too, remember?

3. A Hair Salon. I am the kind of person who doesn't get hair cuts very often. But when I do get one, I get it done from good salons, by thorough professionals who know their business well. Just because the feeling you get there is awesome. With professionals washing your hair with the utmost gentleness and poring over what look to give to your hair, all the while you sitting in a massage chair, the feeling is great. You have to feel it to believe it. And the outcome of the hair styling is always, as in ALWAYS, awesome.

4. A Stationery/Book Store. Stationery and books are the ultimate feel-good factors for me. The vast collection of books and stationery in a store gives me a different kind of high. The smell of new notebooks, the feel of new pens and erasers in my hand give rise to my inner excitement to write something on paper, as opposed to my usual keypad writing. And a new book is always a great buy, no matter how broke it may leave me behind.

5. Coffee Shops. I belong to the generation of hookah lovers and pub-frequenters. Yet, the charm of a simple coffee shop never fails to mesmerize me. Sitting in a laidback posture, sipping my coffee, enjoying the the smell of coffee all around - it's heavenly. And a Cafe Coffee Day can be located every few kilometers in my city, thank God for that.

That's a shot of the interior of my favorite coffee lounge in Delhi.

6. Italy. This one's my travel aspiration for the future - my first and foremost aspiration in world travel. Rome, Venice, Florence, Milan - some of the world's most quaint, picturesquely beautiful and ancient places I would just love to visit and spend some time in. Venice in particular is a truly enigmatic place. Water, water everywhere - just perfect for me.

I must admit I had a certain amount of difficulty putting together this short list. I am a restless girl. I cannot stay home for even a few days at a stretch. I love to travel, not just out of the city or country but within the city and its by-lanes too. So deciding upon my favorite six places in the world is like a mother being partial to six of her innumerable children. (Do they still produce so many kids? Last I checked, the slogan said "hum do, humara ek".) Whatever. Hence this is just a starter to the real story of my travel aspirations, which I might cover in some later post.

As always, let me know what you think. Take care, keep smiling and keep traveling! :)

My 7 Wants

Everyone has some needs and wants in life. In my case, I just have a little more of them than others. And it's human nature to want more and more - we homo sapiens come programmed that way. No matter how well provided one may be, one's wishes never cease to exist. After all, it isn't like the Ambani scions wouldn't ever want anything from life. So if they can, why can't I?

With that I embark upon my next installment in the 10 Day YOU Challenge series, that chronicles my seven wants. Isn't that figure a little too less? I mean this is the easiest of them all. Wishes! And if you've been a regular follower of my humble blog, you would know that I have a lot of wishes in life. I usually tend to wish for something and then entirely forget about it.
And I don't mean to sound boastful, but somehow the Almighty listens to my wishes, and in one way or the other, grants them. I feel like I've got a caring hand over my head in life. But not to start with a sermon now, which I'm afraid I might, let's just record my 7 topmost wants in life.

1. Everlasting Happiness. Yes I know, that's similar to wishing for Santa Claus or an honest politician. But the header says '7 wants', not '7 realizable wants'. Why then can't I wish for the most elusive thing in the world, that is happiness forever in life? Indirectly, I wish for a stable life, peace of mind and a forgiving nature, which when together, automatically guarantee perpetual happiness in life.

2. Perfect Health. It takes a lot of courage to say this publicly to people who've hardly ever seen me, but now that I'm on a confession spree, let me just go ahead with it. I am a little overweight. A little, as in about 5-6 kgs over what I should be. That's allowable, isn't it? Ah, what a relief that was. In addition, I have this chronic ankle injury issue. It'd be enough to say that my left foot is never, ever completely healed. Every time it starts to heal, I just have another fall and end up spraining it again. So here the wish part goes - I wanna get into the pink of health, i.e. lose all that extra weight, get that glow back, and see my foot healed entirely, once and for all. That accomplished, I'll be very, very, VERY happy in life. Trust me, that foot issue is one of my life's biggest problems.

(Now for the materialistic things :D)

3. An Awesome Wardrobe. I have a certain way with clothes, and a real passion for dressing well. So it doesn't come as a surprise that I would want an awesome, loaded wardrobe with all sorts of clothes, accessories, footwear et al at my disposal. It's be like a dream come true for any girl!

4. A Great Metabolism. For the uninitiated, a great body metabolism ensures that you digest well, whatever or how-much-ever you eat, and so you don't gain weight because of eating. If only I had that, I would be able to eat a lot more than I can right now, and still look good, given that I am a complete food junkie and a person with varied tastes. I have a different kind of food associated with every single mood of mine, and the number of moods I can have is, well, innumerable. So you see where that wish stems from.

5. A Debit card with unlimited balance. I love shopping. I totally identify with the girl in Confessions of a Shopaholic. It's sheer pleasure, rummaging through shops, selecting clothes and shoes and candies and bags. But my finances being as they are, I don't get to shop much without the aid of mommy or daddy dearest. So I wish for a genie to appear and grant me a debit card with boundless money, to let me shop to my heart's content. That'll help me fulfill #3 as well. See, I am a pro at shooting two birdies with a single arrow!

6. The Perfect Partner. Now this one's a biggie, as I don't share much about my personal life or desires with anyone, especially on the World Wide Web. But continuing with the ongoing confession spree, I'll reveal my vision for the perfect partner here. It isn't very hard to guess. He must be smart, intellectual, a thorough professional in everything he does, well-dressed and soft-spoken. Has to have a SOUND English, enough to sometimes overshadow mine (believe it or not, that's a very big issue for me). Plus the personality traits of being understanding, caring, mature (more than me, to be able to understand me) and romantic are the obvious pre-requisites. Is that a little too much to ask for in a guy?

7. Love. Love of family, love of friends and the goodwill of every person I meet or get acquainted with. I believe in sharing and spreading love in any form I am capable of. It saddens and sometimes frustrates me to see people spreading ill will and hatred around them, intentionally. Unintentionally, I admit, all of us somehow or the other end up hurting other people. That's what I wish for to disappear in me - ways in which I hurt or repel people. I wish to be a more loving person, who is loved all the more in return. Not too much to ask for, I reckon.

There goes, a post that was entirely By Me, For Me and With Me (in focus). Selfish that may sound, but that's all you get today! No wishes for family, friends, world peace, blah blah. I had decided, this post is gonna be me-centered, for a change. My life, my wishes...hell yeah! \m/

I look forward to knowing your wishes in life. After all, a life is all we've got - it has got to be lived King/Queen size!

8 of My Worst Fears

Until recently, I used to pride over the fact that I’m not afraid of anything – ghosts, vampires, lizards, cockroaches, darkness, heights or water – just any damn thing. And then I sat down to think about what to write in this third post of The 10 Day YOU Challenge series. And it hit me – I have many fears in life. I just never classified them into that specific psychological category called “fears”. But they were present all along, some mere childish, but some more deep-rooted than I would admit. So with this post, I try to come clean with the 8 major fears that lie inside of me.

1. Right from my childhood, I’ve always feared, while moving in the darkness of night across the short passageway leading to my parents’ room, that some kind of monster or the Grinch or the once-famous three-headed witch might come and whisper in my ear or try to grab me from the back. No, you were not supposed to laugh. It isn’t technically even a fear; as I mentioned above, I don’t fear ghosts. It’s more like, I’m sure this is gonna happen some or the other day, so why don’t I walk mentally prepared as to what I’ll do when something like that swoops down upon me? You can say I’m just smart.

2. I always fear, while moving about, that my cellphone will fall down. Believe it or not, but that’s a fear very dominant in my day to day life. It has happened earlier, and it really sucks, seeing your precious phone lying on the ground divided into separate pieces. So I usually hold it in a tight grip while traveling.

3. I fear loneliness. Rather I hate it. I just can’t take it. I remember this one time during my initial days in college (the one I attended only for a month before starting with my current one) when I realized how lonely I can sometimes start to feel. It was like we were a huge group of friends who used to move together. And then one day I had some work in college and the others slowly trickled away, to the market or homewards or whatever. But it was when I suddenly needed help with something and I found no one around, that I started feeling very bad. And then I started sobbing, and tried hiding the tears, which I surprisingly failed at. So I unwillingly called up a friend. They came back and consoled me, and everything was fine, but the fact is I never quite realized why I cried at that moment. Today, I know. And I just admitted it here.

4. In some direct or indirect conjugation with the last point, I fear loss. In these mere 20 years of my life I’ve lost many a loved ones. Such is life. You love a person, be it a friend or best friend or a family member or a significant other, and then you suddenly lose them to death or misunderstandings or sometimes totally inexplicable reasons. That’s when you know what loss means, and what kind of emptiness it entails for life. I still find it hard to cope with life’s losses sometimes. And I fear having to face any more of them.

5. I fear the possible consequences of not being afraid in life. In simpler words, I am very cool about most things in life. I don’t plan my life for more than two days ahead; I take my career very coolly, rather maybe a bit too non-seriously. I believe everything will set itself right; I just tread on, doing what I have to do. It’s what keeps me sane, happy and tension-free. But I fear, this approach to life might someday prove itself to be wrong at some later point in life. I might end up with a sad job, meager salary or who knows not even that. But then again, this fear is only a latent one. If I fretted over this so much, I wouldn’t be living the kind of tension-free life I do.

6. I am always afraid of falling over the edge of the Ram/Lakshman Jhoolas into the holy water of the Ganges whenever I visit the sacred city of Rishikesh. I don’t know if it’s plain fear, or a case of realization of all the sins I’ve ever committed, thereby fearing I might be punished for them by being flung over the bridge by some unseen force into the river. Far-fetched, I know.

7. I fear losing all my good friends one day. Rather some day very soon. A few friends have been trying to convince me that this will never happen, but I can’t shake off this feeling, try as I may. I already feel distant from some of the very friends I would otherwise survive on. I just hope this fear is temporary and futile.

8. I fear the day I’ll have to be separated from my mother. I don’t know whether it’ll be harder for me or for her. But it’s the one fear that has been haunting me very regularly of late.

There, you know a very significant part of ME now. No, seriously. If you know a person's likes, secrets and fears, you can easily predict a large part of that person's character and temperament, as far as I believe. Confessing my fears took a lot of courage and self-belief. And I feel good. :)

Don't forget to share your thoughts and fears! :) And also remember to leave me the links to your 10 Day YOU Challenge posts, if you happen to write any!

9 Loves of My Life

Time for the next confession post? Whoa. Well, here I am then, ready to share the nine loves of my life with you.

[Disclaimer: 'Loves' here do NOT imply romantic interests or alliances. Just to warn you not to let your expectations soar. :P]


1. Books. My first and last love. Ever since I learnt to make sense out of the written word, I've been a die-hard reader. When my peers were learning the alphabet, I started reading. When they moved to comics, I was onto the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drews. I guess you get the picture. Even today I always carry a book or an e-book with me wherever I go.

2. Movies. They always keep me hooked, even when sometimes books or TV tend to lose their charm. I watch a movie when I'm sad, happy, bored, or if there's an exam coming up and I wish to escape its preparation. In fact I just got off the laptop after watching one.

3. Hugh Grant - the one actor I absolutely adore (besides, of course, SRK). In spite of all those funny faces and noises he makes, or the fact that he's over 51. A friend of mine even compared him to Jim Carrey. Bleh. I still love him.

4. Domino's Pizza. That's a pretty recent one on the list of my top loves. It would suffice to say that I could survive on their pizzas, with some garlic bread and pastas thrown in sometimes, for as long as I had to. But alas, if only wishes were horses.

5. My city - Delhi. I was wondering today, how it'd feel to relocate to some other city or another country. And the first thing that popped up in my mind was that I'll miss this city. For all of its so-called rude and indifferent ways and the traffic and pollution, I love it and cannot live far from it for long. That said, I think I'll dedicate a whole new post to describe my love for Delhi.

6. Animals. Let's just say I'm a little more partial to dogs (I adore them like anything!) but I love all of them - cows, birds, monkeys, tigers, all! I used to feed and play with wild cats in my verandah as a kid, once even housed a little injured puppy. If only mom allowed me, I'd keep a whole fleet of dogs at home. Such a lovely prospect!

7. Coffee! How could I forget that! I am a coffeeholic. And a good coffee-maker too, or rather trying to be one. Love to come up with new ways to prepare it. Ah, a true gastronomic delight!

8. Monuments and history. They transport me to another world altogether. And with my city being replete with centuries old monuments and gardens and a long history behind each of them, it's a blissful existence for me.

9. I reserved this last but most important slot for all those people/things that make me who I am, and whom I love the most - my parents, my extra-huge family and all the fun gatherings we have (they're awesome), my few friends who've always proved to be a true blessing in my life, music(it's ingrained into my very existence) and a special slot for my best friend Rose. She makes life worth wishing for a thousand rebirths.

Of course I cannot cover all my life's loves here, as they are way too many. The ones I mentioned above just make the top nine. Everybody has a long list of the things/people they love, cherish or cannot live without. I'd love to read about yours. Do share them below! :)

(This post is a part of The 10 Day YOU Challenge I earlier mentioned taking up.)

The 10 Secrets of My Life

Have I seriously taken up a challenge that requires me to disclose TEN well-kept secrets of mine to the world? Wow. I’m certainly turning too brave for my skin.
Well then, here are the 10 secrets that I’m gonna share with you today.

1. There are many of those times in my life when I get a severe attack of inferiority complex. From anyone – be it a good looking or well dressed girl I see, or an intelligent classmate, or just a fellow musician or guitarist. I can’t help but feel low, thinking how bloody useless a person I am. My friends won’t share my views on this matter though. Precisely why it’s a guarded secret of mine. :P

2. I am a trained Reiki healer. Well yes, I am, thank you.

3. I used to write poetry as a child, in fact even till a few years back. What makes this a secret is that I never show my poetry to anyone, as it is too personal and close to my heart. Most of my friends wouldn’t even know I write anything except a blog.

4. I’ve virtually been best friend-less for most of my growing up years. The one who was there for the longest time was, well, anything but a best friend.

5. I cry. Yes, that might sound like a very normal thing for any common person to do, but according to most people who know me, I am not one who would ever cry. Seriously they believe that! A few days ago I accidentally mentioned to a friend that I was in a bad mood and I cried, and he was like – WTF! Tu roti bhi hai? That hit me like a meteorite. So friends, know it - I do cry, and much more than you would ever think!

6. I listen to depressing songs. The soft, sad Westlife kind. Or the yelling-shouting Metallica and Evanescence kind. But not the usual lovey-dovey, happy songs I should be listening more to.

7. I was an absolute teacher’s pet in school. Not in the least intentionally, trust me on that. Yet I was like the apple of every teacher’s eyes. And from I got to know recently, most of my classmates hated me for that. LOL

8. I am a lazy person. Even moving from my place to fetch stuff from across the room is a task for me. My parents are fed up of my laziness and of telling me to work out and shed a few kilos. Hard luck there, I say.

9. I am prone to depression. Why, how, when etc is not gonna be part of this confession. But I literally struggle to pass days sometimes, without touching rock-bottom. Sure there are bright sunny days too. But scant and far-spaced.

10. I am freaking out right now. Half of the things I’ve just confessed were not supposed to be said. But now that the cat is out of the bag, I feel a hundred tonnes lighter. But I fear the consequences. God save me now. :P

With that, the first installment of the 10 Day YOU Challenge is done. And within this one day, I have managed to convince another friend of mine to take the challenge with me. Waiting for more daredevils to come forward! ;)

The 10 Day YOU Challenge

Exams are gone, and my spirits are soaring high again! And so I return today with a brand new segment on my blog. It's actually an open challenge I found on a blog some time ago, as part of which I have to write a blog post everyday for the next 10 days, each post giving a deeper insight into my life than I've ever given out here before.

So the first day it's gonna be about my ten hidden secrets, followed by nine things/people I love, with eight of my worst fears coming up next, and so it continues, till finally that one picture of mine.


Now, it isn't really cakewalk coming up with a post EVERY DAY for 10 straight days at a stretch! Besides, it's the kind of challenge that requires you to put your guard down completely, letting everyone know the real you. And that's the hardest part. But hey, that's why it is called a challenge, isn't it? And that's exactly what inspired me to take it up. Because it may sound ironic but I, despite being known as a social butterfly in all my circles, always find it hard to share inner facts about myself with people, even close friends sometimes.

And I must own up, now that I've taken up this challenge, I'm beginning to feel liberated already - as if finally ready to spread out my wings and fly. It remains to be seen now whether I'll be able to complete this challenge after all or not. For now, first post coming up tomorrow!

P.S. I would like my fellow bloggers to summon up the courage and time to do this with me. Trust me, it's fun! I look forward to knowing more about you. :)

Exam blues - already!

As I fix my daily dose of caffeine and get comfy into my Beanu (that's how I lovingly address my new bean bag), I take a look around. And by God, does it depress me. Books and books everywhere. Okay, not THAT many, to be honest. But even three engineering course books lying together give out an impression of a whole lot of them. You can't even reckon how fat and how utterly depressing they can get. And to think, I have a couple of engineering years still in front of me. Wonder how I'll tide through them without going insane.

Contrary to what you might be conjecturing up right now, my exams are not on. They're still a whole 5 days away. A SAFE 5 days to go. But at the risk of sounding all geeky and muggerish (did I just invent that word?), I have started preparing already. And because of my awesomely slow pace, I just hope to be able to scrape through the course by the time I enter the exam hall (as always). Amen!

Literally, come exams and my mind suddenly fills up with all sorts of fun things to do. My friends know me only too well to know that I get all restless and shifty as soon as the official 'exam-prep' period begins. My hands itch to write that one long-called-for blog post, my eyes want to read and re-read all those novels gathering dust on my bookshelf, my heart desires to watch those half a dozen movies that were otherwise lying isolated somewhere on my laptop. I suddenly find myself surrounded by a hundred options to indulge myself. It's as if these fun things always wait for my exams to approach in order to uncover themselves. And here I lie, flanked by my Automatic Control Systems textbook on the left, and a Database Management Systems book on the right. WTH. Why is life supposed to be so unfair? I wonder.

Anyway, my coffee is long finished and I can almost see my books beckoning me to pick them up and immerse myself in studies now. So I'll get going. But I have some good news to share before I sign off! There are some very interesting posts coming up right after my examinations. A 10-day YOU challenge I've been dying to take up. So till I come up with some awesome ME stuff, keep smiling and keep reading! :)