It's not just on paper

Ever been to Nagothana? No? Here’s why you should go there... Nagothana is situated in the Raigad district of Maharashtra, about 2 hours from Mumbai by road. The railway station closest to this holiday town is Pen. The feel of Nagothana makes you feel relaxed and rejuvenated. One could also describe it as the countryside of the west. The beauty of this place is enhanced by the mountaintops which tower high and lovingly protect the people of Nagothana. One of the first few observations you’ll make en route to Nagothana is the sudden change of atmosphere; from the smell of car exhaust to the aroma of moist mud, from high rise buildings to low lying hutments and from sites of concrete road and streetlights to those of dried hay and green grass. Once there, it is easy to find accommodation in hotels near the marketplace or in a rented farmhouse by the riverside. Besides the food market, there are other local markets which sell saris in bright colours, enriched with traditional Indian desig...

Bhopal was the venue for our class trip in year 2011. This upcoming visit to the capital city of Madhya Pradesh had raised a lot of expectations, especially in me. I thought of the city as a huge metro with public buses plying through every street. I imagined it to have infrastructure as good as New Delhi and people as casual and carefree as in Mumbai. The actual city however was a comfortable combination of both the conventional and the contemporary. Old Bhopal , which was our prime site of visit, reflected the aura the reigns of yesteryears. It spoke of the majestic dynasties and made a spectacle of its enormous and magnificent architecture. Venerable Antique: The bus ride from Bhopal Railway Station to the Old City, from across the dazzling Upper Lake, takes one through gigantic gates overhead and exposes one to sights of people plying on motorcycles and rickshaws. With its large Islamic influence, one spots a Mosque, big or small, alternating every three residential buildings i...

There are a billion Indians and a billion Indias. Each person belongs to his own India. Overtly there’s a shining India versus a slumdog India, a progressive India versus a regressive India, people’s India versus government’s India and lastly an Indian’s India versus a foreigner’s India. But to every Indian, their India carries a distinct and a different significance. For some, India is all about education, for the others it’s about democracy. It could be about industrialization, urbanization and infrastructure. India might be synonymous to abandoning of dowry or effort to curb female foeticide or something as basic as soil for production. For me however, India is a land trying to battle all hardships. Yes, India has its problems like poverty and malnutrition. But how often do we give India a leeway for being one of the youngest Independent nations? We are definitely not as progressive as the USA or any other first world country for that matter; but at least we’re trying! I...

In the confines of the ICU, my ailing father laid on his deathbed. He clenched my wrist as tight as he could and whispered to me something that I was unaware of since seven years of my life. He said, “Son, before I go, I want you to know you’re adopted.” And then… Silence! I sit in my seat besides the stretcher, still and stunned. My eyes shoot up instantaneously to look at the woman whom I’d called mother all my life. My glance pierces into her eyes. She turns around and weeps alone, without a shoulder to cry on… without 'my' shoulder to cry on! That night was dark and lonely. I walked to my mother’s room and asked, “Where are my parents? Who are they?” She looked straight at me and without blinking her eyes she said, “Your parents are dead and so is my husband! It’s just the two of us left to live.” I walked back to my room expressionless, just like a zombie! In my bed, I ran over everything over and over again. I lamented, “I’m an orphan. As an orphan, how would my life be?...

Image via: newdresses2011 With the mercury levels rising this summer, people were left weary. It needs no mention that amusement parks all over the country were rejoicing the scorching sun. There was a deluge of people escaping the heat and chilling on nerve raising rides. This is why, Essel World’s recent hoarding read, ‘When temperature sores, Essel World roars.’ However, there are scores of other positives to this summer. Obviously, we all believe that the grass is greener on the other side. But let’s look at this objectively. How many of you’ll have pulled out hats, shades, printed summer Tees, Skirts and Cargos from the remotest corners of your wardrobe? I’ve been noticing a change in my styling ever since the advent of Mumbai’s Summer Months. Here, We’ve got extreme heat and extreme downpour. However the irony of nature id this that we have the mildest winter India could ever witness! Ah! Never mind that. So talking about styling; winters are always great because you go shopping...

I was under a waterfall, my head tilted upwards. My face was drenched and water was dripping downwards. Slowly, I saw my whole self and I found that I… that I… was bathing! Bathing in the water, completely bare! A short scream escaped my mouth and I realized where I was! Sweating and panting, I found myself lying crouched on my ‘matrah’ (mattress), under the star lit night of Saudi Arabia! It’s just a dream I reassured myself and tried to drift into sleep again. But why would sleep come to me so easily when I didn’t even deserve to be free from chains and shackles! What was this dream all about I wondered! I had been haunted with such meaningless dreams since a very long time. I had a friend Abu Ishaaq who too seemed to be disturbed by such dreams. He once told me, “I dreamt about you yesterday, Sadeeqy (friend)!” I said joyfully, “well, so what did you dream about me?” Abu said in a low tone, “I dreamt that you and I were walking towards the barren hills. There was an enormous hole du...

My story began in a Media College in India! A keen Media boy presented me to his snobbish classmate and proposed to her. She let down the proposal and flung me away in the air. I landed amidst crow shit! A little kid was walking past. He noticed me and thought I belonged here among stone flowers. He was naïve to know that the stone flowers were no match for me; as I had one thing that they didn’t… BREATH! A philosopher was heading towards a venue to give a seminar. He saw me lying among the stone flowers and thought that I should be dedicated to a great man’s commemoratory statue. So he picked me up and left me near this statue at the gate of his venue! Then the wind blew me away far and wide. Before I realized, I was lying on pebbles of stone. They were hard and they hurt my back. But nobody paid any heed to my suffering. A poor girl was on her way to visit her ailing friend in the nearby hospital. She thought she would present me to him and wish him speedy recovery. I sat there on t...

Many actors are famous for their on-screen chemistry with their co-stars. However, few Bollywood celebrity couples share equal amount of intimacy both, in reel-life and in real-life. It’s time now to take a sneak-peak at the top five celebrity couples, whose love quotient appeals to us. Our Favourite Five: John and Bipasha Indian beauty Bips has been dating Bollywood heart-throb John for eight years now. John and Bipasha are one of the hottest couples in the Bollywood! However, there have been rumours of late that the two are not a pair. They haven’t worked in many films together; yet they have obviously maintained a balance between their personal and professional lives. In fact, this is one reason why we rated this sizzling couple numero uno. What sets them apart? Their commitment. Few controversies. They complement each other. Saif and Kareena This is a couple, which is talked about often in the media. They made big news when beau Saif tattooed sweetheart Kareena’s name on his f...

The cricket world cup has begun! And, it has brought with it a treat for the media houses. The sports columns of newspapers are overflowing with the pros and cons of the World Cup series. And that drove me to do a similar job! This article is about the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, which is the venue of three World Cup matches. It talks about how the problems for the stadium persist, even after it has successfully acquired its new look. http://www.sportskeeda.com/2011/02/19/the-battle-of-the-battleground-%e2%80%93-wankhede-stadium/

2010 was the most; yes the most enterprising year in the lives of crazy, maniac, mindless geeks. Bespectacled and bemoaned, we the students of grade 12 pushed a donkey’s load of insignificant matter into our rather crumpled and aged old grey mind. The dreaded board exams were round the corner to greet us with its uncanny smile, beginning 2010. With answer paper supplement-count running into double digits, and the exam season lingering for a little less than a month; our fingers had almost permanently turned crooked. Once we waded through that ocean of stress and strain, we discovered an island richly laden with spring flowers and fruit trees. As though we had discovered a grape vine, we were greeted- this time with a welcoming smile- to kindly enjoy the much awaited and much deserved summer vacations. Lots of fun came our way that summer. Ignoring the blazing afternoon sun and the warm puffs of air beside the seashore, we caught and dodged and frolicked our way through the leisurely mo...