Melbourne Treasure hunt !

  I woke up to the news that I had  won the ....its your time to visit Melbourne now contest by IndiBlogger !
 I had to leave within a weak for that promised trip to Melbourne and the culmination of the entire activity would be a 'Treasure hunt ',- their e mail mentioned.Only after I completed the entire hunt solving all the clues en route,will I be eligible for the grand prize they said. Treasure hunt in Melbourne ?

As my flight landed at the Melbourne airport ,I was whisked away by the organisers and  dropped over to my hotel room with an envelope which had the first clue.I had an hour to freshen up and join them in the hunt .

Clue 1-  Hang on a deck for an edgy experience in the sky .

We drove up to the Yarra river in Melbourne .To have discovered something as beautiful as this was nothing short of  a Eureka moment for me.
Located on top of the tower by the same name,the Skydeck 88 opened up  a breathtaking view of Melbourne city below. All this from a cube that hangs outside the tower to offer an unrestricted view.
                                                                               

A beautiful earthen pot caught my attention and I knew in an instant that my second clue will be found exactly there.I was absolutely right!

Clue-2 Get arts,craft fun and  frolic ,be one with the crowd as you get fed on this square !

To my eyes it seemed as if  the whole city had gathered there in the night.Myriad hues under the night sky,the square had come alive. There was no dearth of activities at the Federation Square. As soon as I entered the arena,I was welcomed and taken on to a guided tour on foot and then we cycled for some distance . The late night wanted me to call it a day and that is what I did before a Tai chi master smilingly handed me a Rose with the next clue.

Clue-3 It is filled with hot air, the kind that makes you fly !

As soon as I cracked the clue,I lost my sleep and waited for the crack of dawn. The excitement was palpable in my whole being ,the heart and pulse merely conveyed the symptoms as palpitations. A one hour long vegetarian ,Champagne breakfast tour had been booked for me. I was soon in heaven,  literally ! Yarra valley and its vineyards below ,vast expanse of green against a burst of orange in the sky...this definitely goes down as most memorable one hour of my life. Later,hidden in the bread box,I found the next clue..

Clue -4 Now you hop,off you go....find me around when you are done.Pay me not in cash or kind ,I drive you around  my Melbourne dear!

The hop on hop off  shuttle is the most convenient and fun way to tour and indulge in the attractions of the city. I skipped a few stations I had already had the pleasure of seeing and lingered on at few other ones. 

• Stop 1 Arts Precinct
• Stop 2 Federation Square
• Stop 3 Sports Precinct
• Stop 4 Chinatown Precinct and Theatres District
• Stop 5 Melbourne Museum and Carlton Gardens
• Stop 6 Lygon Street Precinct
• Stop 7 University of Melbourne
• Stop 8 Queen Victoria Market
• Stop 9 Waterfront City, Docklands
• Stop 10 Docklands Stadium and Victoria Harbour
• Stop 11 William Street
• Stop 12 Southbank and Yarra River
• Stop 13 The Shrine and Royal Botanic Gardens

A tiring day came to an end but not before I picked the next clue from my last stop at the William street.

Clue -5  Swim with singing dolls..they dance to your tunes and swim alongside you.

                                                      
  Next day was dedicated to swimming with Dolphins and seals and many more water sporting activities. I spent the evening in a spa ,relaxing and listening to music. 

Treasure hunt successfully completed ,I bagged the grand prize of an all expense paid visit to the Great Barrier Reaf ! It could not get better than this for sure..!

I loved and lived Melbourne...its your time to visit Melbourne now !! 

This post is my entry to the  its your time to visit Melbourne now by Indiblogger in collaboration with  visit Melbourne       

My need for speed !

My need for speed
is great indeed                                                        
But the fear of the drive,                                            
..stays in overdrive

I got the Mercedes
with Vodafone I am in,
Indiblogger that I have been
well placed are my loyalties...

Who but me, deserves to be..          
in that race with Lewis
Let me overcome my fears,

let me be thrilled...                                      


Hey Lewis ,Welcome to
amchi Mumbai !!








This is my entry for #the Vodafonespeedfest  Indiblogger contest

It Happened One Night - Until I could soak no more...

It was pitch dark as she set her foot down on the platform.Darn!Last track again!She had no patience to walk over the entire length of the platform to make use of the foot over bridge. Moreover ,climbing in her pointed pencil heels was out of question ,her feet were already killing her.The next moment,she decided to cross the railway tracks .A huge mistake that she was going to repent for a long time to come.

She crossed the first track and looked carefully on either side for any signs of an incoming train.There was none.She walked ahead balancing on her pencil heels.Spotting a huge puddle glistening under the Red of the railway signal,she stopped in her tracks briefly.Some thoughtful soul had laid down two concrete slabs across the puddle to cross over,she observed .Reassured,she put one foot forward and stepped over the slab. In a flash, to her extreme horror,she found herself in a deep ditch.Her nostrils were filled with the worst stench she could ever imagine .She tried to hold on to the edge of the ditch but the  lose earth caved in and with each effort to come up,she sank deeper and deeper inside the muck."Help!" she croaked .Nothing came out of her voice box.The whole world froze in front of her eyes as her voice deserted her in panic.She managed to reach the second railway track somehow,wading through the gutter and suddenly saw a long distance train approaching.It hurtled past making her head spin.Her heart leapt in her mouth at the narrow escape and a terrible ringing noise in her ears made her dizzy for a few moments.The downpour was heavy now, accompanied by thunder and lightening.Grabbing the railway tracks,she hauled herself up with all her might.She kept throwing furtive glances towards the far end of the station, for any incoming train.Drenched to the core,trembling with fear,her body and her soul could soak no more..

She dragged her tired, feet on the rough earth .The dainty high heels were missing, her soles were sore and her spirit dim from the death defying experience.She tried flagging an auto rickshaw as she came out in the open,to take her home.Two rickshaws one after the other , slowed down as they approached her but sped off soon after they saw her.She soon realized why.She begged the next one to drop her home at triple the usual fare.Money talks and people listen.But the night was still young and her ordeal.....far from over! As she closed her eyes and rested her weary feet in the rickshaw, she felt the screeching of tyres as they went around negotiating  a sharp bend in the road.Next moment she found herself on the road beneath ,with the toppled rickshaw around and on top of her .Too stunned to react,she stayed put .She had given up by now,she was drained out  and ready to face whatever came her way. It was more than she could endure..she could soak no more !The happenings were beyond her comprehension .It was more like she was playing hide and seek with death.The driver emerged in seconds from the rickshaw and she felt a number of hands extracting her from the rickshaw. All emerged unscathed,including the rickshaw.She wondered why she had never believed in miracles, ever !

Once home,she rushed past whoever opened the front door and shut the bathroom door behind her.She was stinking and the stench was unbearable.Unmindful of the banging hands on the bathroom door,she continued her efforts to free herself of the offending dress which was clinging hopelessly to her body.Her favourite dress had to be thrown....She was surprised that she thought of that,it ought to have  been the last thing to cross her mind. She tried to wash away the muck, from her body and the experience from her soul as she stood under the shower.The knocking on the door was frantic now..She let them know that she was fine and spent a good 45min under hot water. 'The clothes,had to be rinsed at least, to rid them of the odour ',she thought.She adjusted the setting of  the washing machine and added  Surf Excelmatic in the receptacle.She added a fragrant antiseptic liquid to the final rinse receptacle before starting the wash cycle. No soaking required,they had claimed. This was beyond soaking and frankly she had considered the dress discarded already.

Once out of the bath,she sat down with a cup of steaming chai ,narrating the dramatic events of the night.She skipped the dangerous details of the use of  the railway tracks as the anchor or the narrow margin by which she missed the passing train.The family found the whole thing to be funny!! There were peels of laughter from all around interspersed with words of admonition from seniors,followed by more giggles.'If only they knew' ,she thought before joining in the fun.She was surprised that she actually could laugh and joke about it.Never again shall I cross the tracks ,she promised herself. A grave mistake,that could have put an end to this dream life she had had, as a gift from beyond.

She woke up very late the next morning .Armed with her morning cup of tea and news papers , she settled down. She heard  her maid call out  to her-'Didi, I have ironed your silk dress too' ."Huh! that one ?Throw it Rama "-she said. By that time Rama had walked in with the dress ,bewildered at the command. The dress was spotless! "Did you soak it and wash it again before ironing?" She asked. "No,I did not.I just removed it from the machine and ironed it. Why would you want to throw the dress ?It is so pretty ..Rama mumbled. Why indeed ?
Surf Excelmatic had worked ! Soak no more and shoak ( शोक )  no more !

The cleansing of clothes was practically effortless.She could not say the same about her terrified being.The night was hellish,dotted with nightmares.It will take a long time before she could put this episode somewhere at the back of her mind..hidden.


This post is my entry for the Indiblogger Surf Excelmatic #Soak no more contest.If you like this post, to vote for it, please drop in  here .Thank you .

Award Time

I was apprehensive about the subject choice for my 100th post when BlogwatiG  decided to come to my rescue,unannounced ! To say that I was pleasantly surprised will be an understatement of the year! I have been wandering in this blogworld since a few years albeit regularly irregular in my contribution. Have still not learnt the ropes but I love writing and that brings me back in this space again and yet again. I read more than I write but I intend to bring both to equal footing soon. Thank you for wishing me good luck just for that...oh you haven't ? Then please do .

Thank you BlogwatiG for nominating me for Leibster Blog award .Now Leibster in German means sweetheart ,so thank you again ,makes me fell all loved .If you have not met BlogwatiG ,you can meet her here.

                                                         

                                                                   image curtesy Sandyspeak              

Rules -

--If tagged or nominated,you have to post eleven facts about yoursef.

--Then you answer eleven questions the tagger has asked you and you post eleven questions for people you are going to tag.

--Tag eleven blogggers (with no more than 200 followers )

--Tell people that they have been tagged.

--No tagging back. 

 My take on myself..

                                                                                             
1.Smiles are beautiful ..When not restoring smiles clinically as a dentist, I like to see smiles all around me.
2. I still feel as though I am fresh out of college,in spite of my mirror telling me otherwise.
3. I have strong shoulders which close friends feel free to cry on.
4. I can be a good listener if you can hold my attention.If you fail to do so, my mind leaves my body and its only my gaze that you are talking to.
5. I am still scared of my mom .
6. I have hyperactive tear glands ,can shed copious tears at the drop of a hat. I am capable  of crying while watching a Salman Khan movie too......Lo Bolo !
7. Can not survive without reading books.Print fascinates me.
8. Non-Diabetic but unable to digest too much human sweetness of behaviour.Can see right through it.
9. I am very bad when it comes to matching faces with their names. The twain rarely meets as a perfect match in my brain but I can still talk for hours .
10. I am jinxed when it comes to hiring Rickshaws...I hide behind something and let  my kids,building watchman or anyone else on the street for that matter, do that job for me.
11. I plan to learn at least three forms of  dancing after my retirement.My knees have promised to behave.Then some day I can be found dancing or  reading or writing somewhere in the mountainside in my little cottage.


Answers to questions that BlogwatiG asked -

1. Do you think a 3am friend is a myth?
    Not at all ! I am privileged to have both , imaginary and real !
2.What would you rather be ? A celebrity or the Prime Minister of the country ?
   A celebrity without a doubt. I love attention and our prime minister  does not get any (of the right kind) .
3. What is that one thing that you would like the older generation to imbibe from the younger?
   Do not beat around the bush..come straight to the point for God's sake ! Adaptability, on a serious note.
4.What is that one quality that you would want the older generation to pass on as a legacy to the younger generation?
   Let experience teach ..mere words don't preach.
5.What is your take on beauty contests ? 
  A thing of beauty now, is Silicon for ever. Overrated.
6.If there was one thing you could do to make a difference what would you do?
   Invent a cost effective ,environment friendly, non-exhaustive fuel.
7.What has been your electricity consumption for the last month ? Is it going to change for the better?
  Erm..considering my two descendants who hit the AC button as a reflex action as soon as they enter their      room and.....umm..the fact that Reliance has khunnas against Juhu residents ...ok I quit explaining  ,INR  11000 .I keep trying  to reduce  , I promise to try harder.
8.Who is the one person that inspires you?
  My Badi Buaji  (aunt) is my main source of inspiration.Cancer struck,till her last breath she spread   compassion .Selfless ,sans any expectations..she only gave love. The mould was broken as she left this world.
9.Did you ever go back to school and meet your teachers?Why? 
   Have gone back to school and college both  and more than once ,to meet my mentors and guides.Two ladies,adverse circumstances,tough taskmasters ,dedicated to work, committed to their students' welfare and full of love.
10.What colours would you paint with, if you had just two to choose from?
  Black and White without a doubt.This way I get to paint the town red with my own shades of grey.
11.One line to describe Blogwati G 
   I do not need a line,I am a woman of few words...
     ' Electric piya'   is my description of BlogwatiG



My questions for the lovely people I tagged--

1.Name one situation that you feel you just can not handle.
2.Impulsive or calculative, what would you choose to be in life ?
3.Is it easy for you to accept your mistake in public and not feel embarrassed ?
4.Do your actions differ in a lift if you suddenly realize the presence of a camera inside?
5.How many times in a month do you feel like not having a bath ? What else do you do for water conservation ?
6.What is your personality type-'jumping in the fray' or ' steer clear' when it comes to controversies ?
7 Do you think,harmless lies oft spoken,are just that..? Harmless ?
8.What will make you feel more insecure, receding hairline or ballooning midsection ? Why ?
9.Three things you would like to acquire before you die (materialistic please ).
10.Do you believe in passing on gifted stuff or would you rather hold on to it even if you are never going to use it.
11.What irks you the most in people?



I tag the following very good people because I read them regularly and love their craft .Some of them may not be aware that I read them and some have been reading my ramblings and have been more than kind to comment .Thank you guys for enriching my life .


Raj of beautiful mind

Journomuse

Fat chick goes slim

Sunita kurup

Rahul

kavis musings

Godyears

Fashionopolis

Friends Kitchen

Tomatoblog

lazypinapple

Please comment below and leave a link of your post .Thank you and have fun...

Nokia Apptasting Indiblogger meet at Taj Land End

Most awaited event of this month for Mumbai bloggers was the Nokia Apptasting Indiblogger meet  held on Sunday ,the 19th of August 2012 at the Taj Lands End Hotel Bandra.

                                                                              
Atmosphere was charged as I entered the hall at the Taj. Registration done,I proceeded to the table where all my fellow Indiblogeshwaries were seated. Dressed in various shades of Red and Pink,we were eager to have a good time. Soon enough, Anup , Vineet and the five years young Indiblogger team made us hug each other and kiss our phones and scream hurr.. hurr... hurr . Soon there was no more  ice left to break and we settled down asking for more.

                                                                                                                         
Hosts Rajeev Makhni of Gadget Guru fame and Vikas Khanna ,the famous Michelin star chef of Masterchef India fame took over the reigns. A quick round of introductions of bloggers followed and then the hosts called upon two important people on stage.

                                                                       
The lady in Blue ,Poonam from Nokia made herself a part of the proceedings . She could have had her epic moment of becoming Katrina or Malaika if she had agreed to dance to an item song . Egged on by Rajeev they even played the song but Poonam didn't say 'aaja nach le' . Next person to be introduced from the Nokia camp was Simran. Now,Simran has become a household name since DDLJ,so when Rajiv Makhni called out this name and a cool dude with a cute smile walked up, many hearts were shattered. Simran was made to sit on a stool by Bauji of the evening Rajeev Makhni to get his handsome face morphed beyond recognition.An epic ' Ham aapke hain kaun ' moment was reached as Simran acquired  bee stung lips a la Madam Jolie ! I am sure Nokia will have a fan in my son who has a picture gallery full of morphed and ghastly images of himself.

                                                                         
Speaking of images,the Nokia pure view was put to use and Rajeev demonstrated how the best of individual images from several clicks can be clubbed together to create one single group photograph.This Group photo app was one cool thing that needs to be acquired by me asap,since my eyes refuse to stay open as soon as any camera says 'click' to me in my face. Now that rare shot of mine with open eyes can be saved as a face saver. Friends must be happy.

Since people started drinking early in the evening, another app to measure the level of alcohol in the system was expected and we were not disappointed.Nokia has such an app.which measures level of permissible alcohol. Our tech- guru spotted one guy in the audience who was declared drunk unfit to drive in front of  a very sober audience. Breathalysers ki aisi taisi ,our traffic Pandus can be handed a Nokia loaded with this app.Nokia are you listening?  

                                                             
Nokia city lens was one useful app demonstrated by Rajeev. It helps locate nearest locations of importance in your city as you turn the phone in a particular direction.Without GPS,I thought it was amazing! To know more have a look  here.

For foodies, a food spotting app that spots the nearest eatery complete with menu et al is available at a click Vino app helps them pair their favourite food with the choice of wine.

The apptasting session kept us glued to our seats .No technical jargon thankfully for us.The best part of the apptasting was the tongue in cheek humour displayed by a very witty Rajeev .Corners  of my mouth never left my ears all through the evening.Ek ek ko bade hi pyar se mara sirjee! I specially loved the quiz with four enthusiastic teams and two quiz masters , Vikas Khanna and Rajeev Makhni . Rajeev sympathised with the contestants for jumping into the fray.What I observed was this young team called Banno ki Sahelis who in spite of many wondering as to why they were there,were completely unapologetic about it.They were there to have a good time and they did just that and surprise surprise..won the game.They laughed ,danced,fumbled,answered without the fear of failure and won the game and my heart for sure.Congratulations  girls! The guys looked like they were appearing for a campus selection interview. Utter confusion prevailed as techie answered a foodie question and foodie took a shot at a techie question.Rajeev  left no stone unturned in pulling poor Vikas's legs as he passed a true and false question to the next contestant.

                                                                       
Vikas, as endearing as ever,remained rooted to the desi mitti , providing many 'aww cho chweet' moments to the already awestruck girls. Both guests were seen mingling with the bloggers much after the stage event drew a close and patiently posed for photographs with the amateurs

Hunger pangs were satisfied by a very scrumptious ,aesthetically laid out spread in the lobby. Bloggers mingled over Dal Makhni and Kheer.

Without looming large, Nokia had an impressive presence at the event.Quiet,expressive and to the point.I liked that, unlike many other corporate events where entertainment and interaction is practically non existent .

                                                               
Must appreciate behind the curtain efforts put in by the Indibloggers team .I love to see the gentle, smiling faces of a very capable team welcoming and saying goodbyes. All I can say is I am a proud Indiblogger.

                                                                       
Congratulations guys and thank you for a lovely evening.

Four Seasons Wine and Food Pairing Event

                                              
Beautiful setting by the beach,friends for company,scrumptious spread and that perfect liquid paired with all of the above..what more could I have asked for on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Organised by Ginger-claps for UB groups' Four seasons wines,the event was a small, interactive affair hosted by Novotel.

                                                      

Ashu,from Ginger Claps informed me that it was all about pairing food and wine together .That was enough to arouse my interest in the event.Novotel provided that perfect setting by the sea . Event started a bit late but once it started rolling,it got better and better.The appetizers  looked inviting and tasted even better.The appetizers were paired with a glass of Rose wine.A round of starters,raised toasts and lively conversation set the room buzzing with excitement.                           

Without much fanfare,Mr.Abhay Kewadkar, chief winemaker and expert took over the reigns of the event as we travelled with him to faraway vineyards to soak in the pleasures of growing,extracting,curing,preserving and storing wines.Keen as I was to learn more about wine pairing with food,this seemed like a perfect opportunity and I had no intentions of letting go of any of that.
I always felt rather uninformed when I was in the company of those who made a spectacle of wine appreciation each time they ordered their glass.There are two kinds of people accompanying them,one who joins the game of pretension and the other who watches in amusement or awe.I have always left the choice of drink to my guest whenever I entertain.

Mr Abhay opened his talk by saying there were no rules to be followed while  serving wines.I was pleasantly surprised to see a small sigh of relief escape the lips of many in the audience.He said it was perfectly alright to enjoy wine as any other beverage along with food without attaching too much importance to it.

                                                    

I had always heard of 'White goes with White and Red with Red' when it comes to wine and my knowledge began and ended at that.I wanted to know how one could pair wine with say coastal Maharashtrian food or spicy Kolhapury food ? I also wanted to know the difference between fine Indian cuisine in India and traditional regional cuisine and how well can it go with a glass of wine.Mr Abhay along with the dishy chef Ranvir obliged willingly and gave us all the answers we needed.It was only later that I found out that they have quite an informative website and if you need to know more about food and wine pairing visit here.

Next, we were part of a live,interactive cooking session with chef Ranvir at the two live stations .I tried my hand at making ravioli stuffed with Lamb mince while the other table fried veg cheese balls stuffed with Jalapeno and sun dried tomatoes served on a bed of Spinach.                        Piping hot food washed downed in minutes ,we soaked in some more as the host talked about his experiences in wine making.It was thrilling to know that Mr Abhay was working on  book dedicated to food and wine pairing and that our two bits could be a part of the process.
                                   
The leisurely afternoon was stretched further as main course was followed by exotic looking and even better tasting desserts .They came in tiny bits easy to pick and gobble down.

As the Sun changed its position in the Sky and the evening drew closer, I began summing up in my mind and felt there was this one small thing that would have made it easier for us to know the selection of Four Seasons Wines better.Select wines could have been kept together with accompanying basic information about them for comparison and appreciation.A guided tour of sorts would have been perfect for better understanding.

                                                  



Kudos to Ginger Claps for bringing it all together for bloggers .An afternoon that ended with coffee with friends mulling over the experience.

                                                         




PS-I for one, will wait eagerly for the above mentioned book to launch .

Ummeedein - उम्मीदें

सुनते  हैं उम्मीद  पर  दुनिया   कायम  है

वैसे,   उम्मीद  का  क्या   है .?..

कहीं भी लगा लीजिये , कमबख्त  लग  जाती  है

खैर तो  उसकी  नहीं  जिससे  ये   लगायी  जाती  है

अरे ! लगाने   से  पहले   पूछ   तो   लिया   होता,

 बेचारा , खरा   उतरा   तो   भला  हो  उसका ,

जो   निकला    नाउम्मीदा  तो   कहेंगे   ,

                                         निकम्मा   नाकारा   !


लगा   कर    खुद से  सिर्फ  उम्मीद

 खरे  उतरो     उन्हीं   पर   ही..

झांको   तो  अपना  गिरेबान  ही बहुत   है

उम्मीदें    तो  ऐसी  हों  ...

न   औरों  की   तुमसे    ना   तुम्हारी  किसी  से   हों .

~~शर्मिला~~