Happy Happy Beats

Human Rhythms, A Real Spirit Lifter

 

 

 

 

On Saturday night I experienced something truly unique. It involved drums, a plastic  tube and loads of laughter. I had gone for a BNI networking group function where I was exposed to Human Rhythms, a drumming outfit that helps in team building exercises through musical beats. As I entered the hall, I knew I was in for a good time judging by the looks of merriment in everyone's faces and the sounds of the beats.

We were sitting in a U shaped formation and sections of people were given different coloured tubes. Each group was then given a different beat to tap out on their hands and the conductor then fused it into a harmonious rhythm. Our hands were smarting like hell with all the tapping and but it didn't matter because we were having such a ball. We then moved on to the drums and the same happened there. Sadly, I only caught the last 20 minutes and was really disappointed to have missed the other small instruments like tambourines, sticks and daflis. I just hope to get the opportunity to experience it again.

I can see why this is used in team building exercises because even if you don't know anyone in the room, the sheer fact that you're doing something so enjoyable and positive with a whole group of people, automatically gives you something to talk about. The beats, the laughter, the fun way the composer engages you are all truly designed to lift the spirits and forget the rest of the world for that (always too short) amount of time.

In December 2010, Radhika Bahl, who decided she had had enough of her 9-6 job, cut out and took up the Human Rhythms' India franchise in Gurgaon. She had experienced this in London a few years ago, the memory stuck and she started it in India. They do only corporate engagements and require a minimum of 20 people otherwise there's not much sound impact. The more, the merrier. There's a variety of compositions that you can choose ranging from a three minute session involving no instruments, just body parts, up to 90 minutes. For all those looking for something truly out-of-the-box to liven up a boring business convention, this is a definite must do.

 

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Pink Auto, Gurgaon

Women Only. Double Edged Sword?

 

 

I saw this in Gurgaon today. The pink auto rickshaw for women only, designed to enhance the safety of the fairer sex using public transport in the city. I thought wow, cool concept! After all, there are women-only compartments in trains and in some countries, women-only trains.

Then I thought again, this can be counterproductive. The pink top and all that it signifies can actually serve as a beacon flashing VULNERABLE, VULNERABLE, SOFT TARGETS INSIDE to sick, creepy perverts who like to harass women regardless.

Unlike in trains, where you have (relative) safety in numbers, here it's still the single woman passenger or maximum three that can squeeze in. Though this is great in the share-auto scenario, where random people share autos going in the same direction.

I remembered one of my only auto rides alone after just moving to Delhi from Mumbai in 2002. After the confidence I felt taking public transport on my own in Mumbai, I thought it no big deal to jump into an auto from my office, which at that time was in Janpath Hotel, to my residence, then in New Friends Colony. This was around 6 p.m.

The entire thirty minutes it took to reach my destination, I was filled with unease and insecurity as there were cars that upon seeing a single girl in the auto, would slow down and drive alongside for a while, with the occupants staring. And no, it was not my imagination. After that, I never took an auto back. Always took a cab when I needed to as they at least have lockable doors.

I'm very privileged and lucky to have a car to go around in but to all the women out there forced to take public transport, I feel for you. Take care and be safe.  

Delhi Fashion

Shantanu & Nikhil Bridal Collection 

 

Last night, I went for a fashion show by designers Shantanu & Nikhil who were showcasing their couture bridal collection at the Delhi Fashion Week. I wasn't really looking forward to it too much as bridal collections are to me an assault of bling and overwork making the garments look more like they belong on the wall than on someone's body.















I was pleasantly surprised. The women's collection was a mix of pieces in white, brown, red, pink and yellow with gold prints and designs. The focus seemed to be on the cut and the flow of the garment rather than throwing every glittering stone, bead and sequin one can find, on the cloth. Some of the pieces were really stunning. Totally my kind of clothes, sophisticated and classy and if I were a very (and I emphasize on the very) rich gal getting married this year, this collection would definitely be on my to-hit list. Some of the men's clothes I couldn't understand, though I guess the designer's job is to get really creative!

Indian fashion, especially couture has a long way to go before it can compare with the top designers of the west but if these guys keep going in this direction, focusing on the cut, quality and sophisticated style, they will get far. 

 

 

Great India Place, Noida

Great India Place Food Court Not so Great

On Sunday, we decided to take the kids out. The husband didn't want to drive too far and it had to be indoors to avoid the heat so we settled on the Great India Place mall in Noida. Where to eat? We decided on the food court for the kids and I can safely say that it's one of the worst food courts I've ever eaten in. The offerings are the usual chaat, north and south Indian fare, local pizza, local Chinese and more random stuff. The food, uninteresting as it is, is also unappetising. No healthy options there.

Quality standards are negligible to the discerning (guess that's the operative word) palate. How it was so crowded I just can't fathom, though I guess it has something to do with the pricing. It's also not a very comfortable experience as the huge (I think fiberglass) dome is the only thing separating you from the burning sun outside and the air conditioning is too lazy to reach the third floor.

 Against my better judgment, we got the kids a McDonalds happy meal and I know my older one wants it for the toy and not for its gastronomic delights. The younger one is too small to care. Well.. the happy meal was far from happy. The aloo tikki burger was too spicy for the younger one and the chicken McGrill too spicy for the older one (though he finished it as he had something to prove). I roamed the whole food court to find an appropriate alternative for the little one and after staring at the limited and crappy options for at least five whole minutes, settled on an idli. After all that, the sambar was too spicy. Argh.

The one good thing that came out of it is that I think the husband has finally accepted that McDonalds is not happening for the kids for a long long time and neither is Great India Place on a Sunday! Yay!

The mall was super crowded as it's sales season. Great India Place as it is, is not bad and as far as malls go there are some good stores there especially for kids like Max and Zoddy House (Noddy House earlier, but am guessing they ran into trademark infringement territory) apart from the usual popular chains. Shoppers Stop, Pantaloons, Lifestyle, Home Centre, Home Town, Big Bazaar are all present. As far as malls go, it's alright but I'm looking forward to the new ones coming up and hoping to get better food, shopping and entertainment options closer to home.

Misty Mountains Part 2 - Kasauli

Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh, India
 

 

 

Down memory lane, was the Kasauli leg of my mountain holiday. I went back to the quiet little hill station opposite the Lawrence School Sanawar, where I studied for seven years, and dragged my family to experience all that I had in those long ago days, including the food I ate and the places I roamed.

Being an army cantonment and due to restrictions on land purchase it's probably the only popular hill station in India which hasn't fallen prey to rapid haphazard development (so far) and the sleepy little town, which you can pretty much cover in one whole day, is a real delight for people looking for a quiet holiday. It's the perfect weekend getaway. Though June was peak season and not so sleepy with loud tourists chattering up and down the hills.

Our trip was a continuation from Naldehra (see earlier post) and took us about three hours because we got stuck in a bit of a traffic jam in Shimla and stopped for lunch. We checked in to the Kasauli Castle hotel in Garkhal, a teeny village between the Sanawar and Kasauli hills. Peak season and last minute booking (seems to be a common thread in my posts) it's all we got. Garkhal, which was a four-shack village in our school days, has been rapidly developed and a multitude of hotels, many calling themselves Kasauli something or the other, have popped up.

I was told the hotel was located above Mushroomlee, the only proper restaurant in Garkhal in those days and very prominently visible from the road, which now can't be seen amid the crush of buildings around. So naturally we overshot as I couldn't spot it. Imagine staying in Garkhal. Never thought I'd see the day! The road up to the hotel is really steep and narrow and you'd better hope there's no car coming down at the same time.

Commercial Comfort

After a quiet, peaceful homestay in Naldehra, the full on commercial establishment was quite disorienting. A modern construction with 15 rooms which got pretty decent reviews on tripadvisor. It had a hall where they played loud popular Hindi and Punjabi music every night and the lawn had tables and chairs where you could also eat your meals and a huge concrete patch on the wall where they showed a new movie every night by projector. Oye Lucky Oye being one of them. 

 

Kasauli Castle

My idea of the hills is to enjoy the beauty of nature and the peace and tranquility it affords so I was quite disgruntled at this situation, but got over the gripe after I realized the benefits. The rooms were very comfortable and one of the restaurant staff members who happened to be a Bengali far away from his homeland, was so happy to meet fellow countrymen that he went out of his way to help us. The entire staff was very friendly and responded quickly to all calls and that really was the selling point of the hotel. More importantly, the brats were quite happy fooling around in the play area with swings and slides all day, which left us to our own devices to explore Kasauli at leisure.

 

The weather was beautiful. It would threaten to rain but it wouldn't. Cool, crisp and misty mostly. Every once in a while a cloud would pass through us. Such a wonderful feeling especially after coming from the sweltering National Capital Region.

We walked the steep upper mall road, past the Kasauli Club, the TV Tower (which I spent many an hour gazing at from my classroom on the opposite hill wishing I was somewhere else)  right up to the Nature Trail, a scenic path wrapped around a hill that takes five minutes to cover. Thanks to our workouts on the steep slopes of Naldehra, I was quite the mountain goat by then. The road has little paths leading into the hillside which seem interesting to explore and are spaced with driveways leading to charming colonial era cottages owned by admirals and major generals and the like. So envious. How I'd love to have a place there.

Came back down to the lower market where we had bunsams (samosa in a bun with chole and chutney), jalebis and chai. The market is a long narrow line of shops selling ethnic products, cheap Chinese toys and street food. We sat on a bench against the wall and enjoyed our fare amidst flies and stray dogs loitering around. Yeah, that's one area they would do well to clean up. Has potential but falls prey to the typical dirty street market category. The only not-so-clean part of Kasauli.

I Famous

Jalebis coming up!

The owner of the Narindar Sweet House shop where we had the bunsams was quick to tell me about how famous persons have frequented his place. He thrust a laminated article written by Khushwant Singh about his shop, showed me a picture of himself with Omar Abdullah and said  ``do you know who that is? Do you know who that is?'' God(eyeroll) that was irritating. Apparently Rocky and Mayur, hosts of a food show on NDTV Good Times, have eaten there too. Yeah well you know.. don't care. Surprisingly,  the food is still the same, though the enjoyment of it a little less than I remembered as a perpetually starving student in boarding school.

The shops in the main market are still the same after at least 20 years. Sharma & Bros, photographer for the school, Gupta Brothers, the grocery shop and round the corner, Daily Needs, the place to go for burgers and cold cuts. I remember going to Daily Needs in 2001 and asking for barbeque chicken. It was November and quiet and the owner actually walked down to the market to buy the bird. I told him about it this time and he laughed. You have to buy minimum two burgers as they use the oven to heat the chicken part of it (conscious about electricity wastage) and it was totally fine because I ate them both back to back! Still nice.

We saw an array of different fruit flavoured wines made locally in Himachal as well as stuff like apple cider vinegar, which we bought (apparently it aids weight loss). I bought a rhododendron (their specialty), apple and strawberry wine too. So far only opened the apple wine and the verdict .... it would find better use in desserts.

Lawrence School Sanawar

The next day, after I took everyone on a tour of my beautiful school, with its stunning landscape spread over an entire hilltop (though I'm very happy not to be a student anymore), we went back to Kasauli for lunch. Ross Common, a Himachal Tourism department owned property on the lower mall road, is in my opinion the best located hotel in Kasauli and has some pretty decent food at great prices. The service is horrendously slow though.

The grilled chicken was succulent and a very welcome change. The hotel was my first choice but was fully booked, though Kasauli Castle was the better place to stay especially if you have your own car. Being government owned, Ros Common's furnishings are a bit old and musty and maintenance is not their strong point, BUT..... location, location, location.

Holy Places Are Holy Hell to Get to

After lunch, two of us walked the 3.5 kilometres to Monkey Point. A hump at the end of the hill on top of which is a Hanuman temple. The point is guarded by the Air force and visitors are not allowed to enter after 4 p.m., or take any phones or cameras into the area. We barely made it in time, avoiding getting splashed by cars bumping up the badly maintained road with potholes filled with water.

As we huffed and puffed up the steep 350-foot climb to the top, stopping to catch our breath every once in a while (we had to be back down in half an hour), one guy on his way down told us that his eight year old son who has asthma issues just ran up the hill in like five minutes.....I don't think that made us feel any better and we huffed and puffed on. We reached the top, paid our respects at the temple and then stopped to admire the view. On a clear day, you can see the city of Chandigarh from there but that day, a misty cloud passed through us. Ah well, still good.

Cheeky!

After that we took a very steep short-cut down to our hotel in Garkhal, picking up fallen pine cones along the way, and I remembered all the times I wheezed UP the slope (which is quite a killer) in my school days. As my walk down memory lane ended, I wondered if the next time I came back, I would see a big change in this wonderful little town as property developers are now building villas all around the hills at exorbitant rates. It seems that Delhi land and food prices have stretched as far as the cars from there can go. Totally ridiculous. But as of now, it's like time's stood still in Kasauli and sometimes, that's the way it should be.
 

Misty Mountains Part 1 - Naldehra

                                          Naldehra, Himachal Pradesh, India

On my Himachal holiday last month, I went back to the state where I spent seven years of my life studying and tried to relive a bit of my youth with my family. Our first destination was Naldehra a picturesque little town about 22 kilometres from the state's capital Shimla.

As far as hill beauty goes, much of Himachal has nothing on the dense lushness and forested beauty of the north-eastern hills (I haven't yet been to Kashmir so can't compare to that)  but there are pockets of beauty nestled in here and there and Naldehra is one of them. The approach from Shimla is pretty and the roads though narrow, are lined with trees such as deodar and cedar.

Our trip from Noida, about 400 kms, started at 6.30a.m. and took 12 hours because of two long rest stops, going slow so we didn't lose sight of the other car with us and losing our way a couple of times. Also, the underpowered Ertiga loaded with five people and luggage struggled to pull up the slopes in the hills and we had to keep putting off the air conditioner to overtake other vehicles. Once, after winding behind a bus for about five minutes, we got an opening but the car just couldn't muster up enough power to pass. Suddenly a head popped out of the back of the bus and uh oh! Aborted the attempt to overtake just as most of the guy's entire breakfast and lunch ejected from his mouth in a violent manner. Yuck. Think we got a few spots on the car. Bus hazard in the hills.


The good part is that the highway bypasses all the major cities and towns. The new Kalka and Parwanoo bypass is really awesome. Four lanes hugging the hillside with the valley below. Our breakfast stop was at the Savoy Greens in Karnal, a soulless food court with McDonalds, Dominos and the like but...good bathrooms. A major criteria for me.

Lunch was at Giani Da Dhaba in Dharampur, an institution in itself which really had the best food I'd eaten the entire trip but.... bad bathrooms. The lemon chicken, their speciality, was outstanding. So much so, that we ate there again on the way back. The stuffed parathas, achari paneer and other items are like they've been made at home and are not too rich or greasy. The hazard is of overeating and that's what can get you on the winding roads up, All of us were pretty pooped by the time we got to our destination and it took us the remainder of the evening to get our bearings right.

Jacaranda Estate

In Naldehra, we stayed at the Jacaranda Estate and Whispering Willows. The homestay is owned by a lady who takes great pride in her property and it shows in every aspect, from the lush gardens to the nicely done up rooms. One room was made entirely of deodar wood and was huge with two double beds on either side and two balconies looking out into the valley. The other had a massive antique bed which can easily accommodate four adults breadthwise. There are only three rooms so if you go in a group you have the place all to yourself. The only issue city slickers would have are the creepy crawlies. Spiders, beetles and the like, so mattresses on the floor.. uh uh.

Dining area

Mornings were spent in the lawn goofing around with the kids and just exploring the property. A real jewel with willow trees, a small apple tree, a fully laden plum tree and blooming hydrangeas and other beautiful flowers. It was a compact terraced property and boasted of a direct view of the valley. The rains would come at night and leave us alone the first two days which is why we decided to make the most of it and explore areas beyond.

Our meals, breakfast, which was included in the fare, and dinner, should you choose to eat it there, were eaten in an open gazebo in the lawn. The place was so charming that we wished we could have spent more days just relaxing there.



There is a lot one can do from Naldehra because it's close to so many interesting places. Tattapani, Fagu, Mashobra, where you have the famous Wildflower Hall, Kufri, Shimla all can be done individually within an hour or two from there. Within Naldehra you can get a round of golf, go horse riding, trek through forests and generally walk around exploring.

The day after we arrived, we went to Tattapani which was an hours drive downhill. The name means hot water and the place has natural sulphur springs at the banks of the Sutlej river. As with most Indian tourist spots, the area has not been developed to allow people to appreciate its full potential. With the rain showers that hit, the natural springs were mostly covered by the river, so we went to hotel Hot Springs Therme and Spa, which had piped the water from the springs into a pool which people could jump into.



Tattapani

Only one person out of our group went in the water because the rest of us were unprepared for this and didn't have our swimming costumes and no way were we going to wear one provided by the hotel. Apparently it was a good experience. They also had private rooms for people who didn't want to jump into the public bath. I would try it next time. There were also people rafting in the river, which was muddy brown at the time, though it's not really a destination for actual river rafting thrills. For that you need to go to Rishikesh in Uttaranchal or higher.


After lunch at the hotel where the lights kept going off and the person who got into the pool radiating heat generated by the sulphur (not to mention the smell  which lingered way into the next day even after a good scrub) we got back to Naldehra. That evening, we decided to take a walk to the golf course, the oldest in the country according to the Himachal Tourism web site, and generally explore. Oh boy, this is one golf course you really have to sweat to get to and can't take your car. It's a steep slope of about 100 meters up to the clubhouse on narrow paths. My husband's observation was that this is one club you definitely can't afford to indulge in alcohol.

Ahead of the clubhouse is a lovely picnic spot, a clearing surrounded by tall deodar trees. The beauty was spoiled only by the litter which seemingly can't be controlled anywhere in India and the approach road, of which not an inch was spared from horse droppings. The place was dotted with vendors selling tea, Maggi and fruit chaat. We sat and enjoyed all three and chatted to a couple from Delhi who advised us about the perils of parking in Shimla where we were planning to go the next day and also gave us a solution to that. Sometimes people come into your lives for a fleeting moment for very constructive purposes.

If it weren't for them, we would have just turned around and forgone Shimla altogether. Parking was a NIGHTMARE!! We arrived in the city around 12.30 p.m. and reached the lifts near the Combemere hotel which would take us right to the mall area. This is the most convenient way to get there so we tried that first. There are a couple of tiered parking structures which were full and there was no other place to park. for people who aren't at all familiar with the city its crazy because you just don't know where to go. You can park on the roadside on the other side of the city and making the long trek up to the mall but with a 2 year old child and a pram and shortage of time, it was not an option for us.

Shimla

So we tried once, didn't get space, went all the way to the other end and turned around. Came back, tried again. We were about to get a slot but because two cars were blocking each other, one on the way out and one on the way in (no separate entry and exit as you can see) and we were holding up traffic, we had to let that go. Why can't the administration just get their act together? Peak season, seriously crowded hill station and two measly parking slots!!! Somehow we can never build for the future. Always struggling to keep up with past demand. 



Jakhoo hill, Shimla

Word of advice to all those travelling to Shimla in their own car for the day. Get there early. Though I'm not really sure that if we had reached at 9.30 we would have got parking either, but then again, its coming from an irritated person. If you face what we did, you have another option and this is the advice we were given. Park at the Radisson hotel, have lunch or a coffee there so that it doesn't look like you're there only to park, then take a cab to the lifts. It was a bit far out and the trip to the lifts cost us 500 rupees one way and 400 rupees on the way back, but by then we had had it. Do your research and park at any hotel close to the mall that will let you.

Our lunch at the Radisson took almost two hours and by the time we reached the mall road it was already 4.30 p.m. If it hadn't been so hard to get there we would have enjoyed it so much more. The city is charming with lovely old architecture. The mall road stretch had a mix of the old with the new. Traditional folksy products shops along with the brands you see all over the cities. Sadly, all we got to see was the church and walk down the strand to the post office and it was time to head back to our lovely escape in Naldehra where I promised the owner I would make brownies.



Room with a view

The great part of the holiday was that it only got dark around 8 p.m. so we could enjoy the hills to the max. In winter darkness falls around 5 p.m. and after that it becomes difficult to do much. I suppose that's why it's peak season at this time and seriously crowded.

Back at Jacaranda I got down to making the brownies. The owner Rita very kindly opened her tiny personal kitchen and provided most of the ingredients. Since there was no measuring scale I had to fly blind. Lets say I didn't do too well with that and the result was quite bitter according to me. Was edible though and everyone was quite gracious about it.

There was a family from Chandigarh also staying there and that last evening we decided to have drinks together. Rita joined in and pulled out some cheese, crackers, and sausages. With food, wine and music in the gazebo and rain surrounding us it was a party and a night to remember. A fitting end to the first part of my misty mountain holiday.