Luxury in the heart of Mumbai

The one thing I like best about going to Mumbai is the moment when my plane lands

and I step out of the aeroplane. There is something magical in the air.

“ I always get the feeling that the big city of Mumbai spreads its arms to welcome

me.”

“The warmth filled breeze at the Mumbai airport and the bright

sun kissed tarmac never fails to fill me with a new found enthusiasm and vigor.”

As I stepped out of the airport I found a person from the Novotel Juhu Beach

waiting for me at the arrival. Dressed in a crisp white uniform he was there to

welcome me and lead me to my car.

A cool breeze escorted me and gently caressed my face and ruffled my hair ever

so gently and made me feel so wanted and welcome in this big and beautiful

city.

The ride to the Novotel Juhu beach hotel is short as the hotel is not very far

from the airport. En route I found a large sea of people who were going about

their business of life.

As my car meandered through the Mumbai roads I wondered

"So these are the people who make Mumbai tick and make Mumbai the city that

never sleeps"

So many people always on the move making it a sea of people, it felt good

however my eyes were searching for a sea of a different kind.

I was looking forward to get a glimpse of the Arabian Sea. As the hotel car in

which I was traveling took a turn I got my first glimpse of the Arabian Sea.

The sun light drenched waves appeared to have donned a silver edge and were

merrily dancing to the song of the sea. I rolled down the window of my car and

I could experience the cool see breeze getting mixed with the air of the car

air conditioner. I felt excited and I wanted to get out of the car and run towards the sea but I resisted the temptation as I knew that there would be many opportunities to observe the Arabian sea at close quarters as I was going to stay in a Sea facing room at the Novotel Juhu beach hotel.

The Check in

The Check in was smooth and quick and I was escorted to my room.

I could not wait to see the view of the sea from my room. Moving the curtains to one side I got a breathtakingly beautiful view of the Juhu beach from my room.

The A.C was on and I was sipping my welcome drink observing the bright shimmering waves hitting the clean sands of the Juhu beach.
As a hotel guest I could access

Free WiFi
work space
32-inch LCD TV
Lavish buffet breakfast
24-hour fitness centre
O2 Spa
Sauna
Choice of flexible spaces for hosting an event

A Hotel by the beach in a city like Mumbai is indeed a luxury and my eyes searched for a path to go to the beach. I found a door in front of the hotels swimming pool leading to the beach.

“A mere 2-3 meter walk to the clean part of the Juhu beach from my hotel room! “

The luxury was getting even better.

I hurriedly made my way to the beach through the exclusive hotel gate reserved for its guests and walked up to the waves that were playfully inviting me to join them in a game of sorts.

Luxury continues ~ No place is too far from the Juhu beach.

Spending time at the beach had a calming effect on me and I got geared up to take on the hustle and bustle of Mumbai's city life. The twin effect of the rejuvenating experience at the beach and the fact that the Novotel is so centrally located in Juhu makes it easy to travel to any destination. I for instance wanted to visit the Sidhi Vinayak temple to get Bappa's blessings and it was a short drive away.

So was a trip to Bandra linking road.

Rubbing into celebrities at Novotel Juhu Mumbai ~ The trip is getting better and better.

In the evening when I returned to my hotel and entered its main gate I witnessed Mr Anupam Kher walk out of the hotel. That was not all My Akshay Kumar and Prabhudeva were also spotted on the next day. The feeling of being in such close proximity of such celebrities indeed adds to the experience of your holiday.

It Food Food and more Food

There are a plenty of food options at this beautiful hotel

GADDA DA VIDA-Chic Sea Lounge
I found this to be a great place to sit and relax. Enjoy a drink and a quick snack as I watched the boats and the waves of the Arabian Sea.
Olio is the go to place for Italian food. The hot Pizza from the wood fired oven is a must try and made me go here again and again.

BAGEECHA-Indian Dining
This place is so wonderful. I enjoyed siting and dining here in the evening and it used to be a great sight to watch food being prepared in the open kitchen. The aroma of fresh hot food mixed with the fresh air from the sea never failed to work up my appetite.

SAMPAN-Chinese Dining
This place offers fine Chinese dining options at the hotel.

THE SQUARE-Pan Indian All Day
This is the place where I could find delicious Indian food throughout the day and I loved eating here. The range of food was elaborate and it becomes difficult to make a choice as to what to eat and what to leave.

PECHE MIGNON is my favourite part of the hotel for it is Juhu's Only French Pâtisserie. It presents a lavish array of fresh and vibrantly flavoured pastries, breads with a variety of chocolates.

At times when you are travelling to a new city finding food of choice can be a luxury however the next morning I had a sumptuous buffet breakfast at the restaurant and was a great way to begin my day.

The French pastry shop is another attraction not to be missed at this facility as It is a famous and renowned french pastry shop in Juhu that lives to its reputation of offering authentic french pastries and breads.

Since It was a Sunday morning I got to experience a lot of activities that were planned for the hotel guest. There were activities for kids and a bangle maker was making lakh (laquer) bangles for the ladies.

A few laps in the open air pool were enough to work up a good appetite. There were a number of food options available from an open air restaurant to an interior air conditioned seating.

Sitting under the shade getting a good view of the pool and the ocean beyond, biting into some hot, delicious and nutritious lunch with not a worry in the world is the best luxury I could wish for at that moment and more then wishing I was living it.

“I am blogging about my luxury stay experience for an activity at BlogAdda in association with MakeMyTrip“

Share if You Love Your Mother

Share if You Love Your Mother

The Warmth of Friendship

It is often said opposites attract but who ever coined this phrase did not know about me and my classmate Suraj. We were complete opposites. I was meticulous and studious and he was the complete opposite, always busy playing pranks and troubling me. Being the son of a teacher he got preferential treatment from the rest of the teachers. If this was not enough injustice he was always assigned to my group. So I was the one who did all the hard work be it any class projects or any activity but he would walk away with all the laurels. Even in the school plays he was the one who would get the best roles and most of us including me would be assigned some insignificant part. From raiding my lunchbox to hiding my homework and getting me into trouble was his favorite past time. One could say that ours was a love hate relationship. I hated him and he loved to create more trouble for me.

The fact that he was also my lab partner made things even more difficult for me. It was the time of the year when the school session was coming to a close and the only silver lining for me was that since it was boards exams time I would no longer have to be the target of the pranks of Suraj.

On the penultimate day of school during the chemistry revision practicals he spilled some chemicals on my practical note book ruining it completely. As it was the record of a full years of work which was now lost due to his prank made me feel miserable. I was angry and I sulked but what could be done all my hard work had been wasted. As it was the year of my board exams so I was required to present my practical workbook in front of the external examiner. I felt very depressed and I fell ill and skipped the last day of school before the exam preparation holidays began.

Even at home I found it very hard to concentrate on my studies even when I recovered from the illness. The anger and frustration made me very bitter. I was neither able to focus on my revision nor was I able to rewrite my practicals notebook.

Then one day in the morning the door bell rang. When I opened the door I found the same bully classmate of mine Suraj standing at the door. He was the last person whom I expected or wanted to see and even before I could react he extended his right hand. In his hand I saw a practical note book neatly covered in brown paper. On its cover was my name handwritten in bold letters. I took the notebook from him and flipped through it. It had all the records of the experiments and the readings recreated and completed. He had even got it checked and signed by our chemistry teacher.

I was surprised and asked me how did he manage to do this to which he said that as he was my lab partner he had all the readings in his notebook and all he had to do was to copy it in to a new notebook. Being a teachers son had its perks and he had no problems getting it checked and signed by our chemistry teacher, As he said this his cold impish grin did not seem impish anymore. Instead what I saw was a new warm side of Suraj. He had sacrificed almost a week of our study leave in completing my project book and yes he had admitted in front of our chemistry teacher that it was his fault.

Till date I have preserved that practical notebook with great care as it holds for me warm loving memories of #MagicOfWarmth moment of finding a new friend.

“I’m blogging about my #MagicOfWarmth moment at BlogAdda in association with Parachute Advansed Hot Oil”

10 reasons to buy the All-New Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote Streaming Media Player

The Fire tv stick with alexa voice remote is the new kid on the block that lets you do so much more with your voice.
So no more pressing the remote instead talk to it.
Speak into the remote to switch channels or launch a particular program and fire stick from Amazon would do the job after all this Alexa voice controlled

device makes your TV into a Firestick TV. Wondering what exactly is the Fire TV stick with voice remote. Then consider this...

When you purchase a fire tv stick with alexa voice remote you get a USB stick

that fits into your TV. From now on lets rever to it as the fire tv box. What remains in your hand is the fire stick voice remote.

Now instead of pressing buttons you can command this Alexa voice driven device by speaking into it. You could launch your favourite game by speaking into your remote's microphone or you could launch an app. It lets you dim the lights and even order the Pizza by speaking into the remote.

If I were to list the 10 things One could do with the Fire TV Stick with Alexa voice remote.
Here they are.
In case you prefer watching it as a video here is the video



Or if you prefer to read here is the list

10 reasons to own the Fire TVstick with Alexa Voice Remote

So it is goodby to pressing the remote buttons instead speak into it. Here goes

my list.
1)Speak to the remote to search for the fire tv apps

2)Like a conventional remote you can control the playback but instead this time

 with the fire tv stick with alexa voice remote or as firestick remote that

some people like to call it you can simply speak to your remote and it would

execute the desired play instruction for you.
3)By speaking into the fire stick voice remote you can play the music of your

choice or launch your play list.
4)Order Pizza by Speaking in to your fire stick controller or the voice remote

(as you may prefer to call it that)
5)You can control and dim the lights by speaking into the Alexa driven firestick remote.
6)Enjoy over 7,000 apps, games, and Alexa skills including Netflix, Hulu, HBO

NOW, YouTube, Amazon Video, NBC, WatchESPN, Disney, and more. Subscription fees may apply.

7)No cable or satellite? No problem. Play live TV and sports from AMC, HGTV,

ESPN, FOX, and others with a subscription to Sling TV, or top-rated primetime shows with CBS All Access.
8)Prime members get unlimited access to Prime videos thousands of movies & TV

shows at no additional cost.Plus, members can add over 90 premium and specialty

channels like HBO and SHOWTIME—no cable or satellite subscription necessary.
9)Plug the Fire TV Stick into any TV’s HDMI port, connect to Wi-Fi, and continue watching.
Play current favorites or quickly discover what to watch next directly from the Home screen.
10)Best of all it costs only $39.99.

The tv fire stick is indeed a wonderful device it lets you do so much more from controlling the lighting connected to   an Alexa compatible device to launching the "Game of Thrones" by speaking in to your remote to Plus, play music, find movie show times, order a pizza, and more - just ask.
No cable or satellite? No problem. Watch the best of live TV and sports from AMC, HGTV, ESPN, FOX, and others with a subscription to Sling TV, or top-rated primetime shows with CBS All Access.
Find the best way to watch with universal search results from over 100 channels and apps including Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Video Prime members get unlimited access to Prime Video, featuring thousands of movies and TV episodes at no additional cost. Plus, members can add over 90 premium and speciality channels like HBO and SHOWTIME cable or satellite subscription necessary.
Pick up where you left off. Bring hit shows and movies with you when you travel. Plug Fire TV Stick into any TV’s HDMI port, connect to Wi-Fi, and continue watching.
Play current favourites or quickly discover what to watch next directly from the Home screen.

You can buy it at here from Amazon.com

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Free shopping and priority shipping without having to pay any additional charge that you must seriously consider to make your shopping experience truely rewarding.

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Listen To Your Heart

From the moment our heart begins to beat, it becomes our constant companion for the rest of our lives. However we seldom take any care of the organ that beats for us 24X7.Little do we realize that all it takes is a few #ChhoteKadam to keep it up to 50% healthier.

When life gets busy, prioritizing your health is a must..
6 Common Unhealthy Eating Habits that come in the way of keeping our heart healthy are.
Eating in front of the TV or computer
Eating when you are stressed, depressed or in a rush
Dining out (especially late dining)
Going grocery shopping while you’re hungry
Not being cautious of servings and portion sizes
Rewarding yourself with food

We put our jobs and other related commitments first, rather than health. We need to understand that our health is a priority and if we do not keep ourselves healthy, then we won’t be able to enjoy with our family and keep up with work targets. Goals should be realistic and fit into your lifestyle.

Eating Better so that the heart stays healthier.
Try healthy substitutes.
Instead of sugar, use a lower-calorie sugar substitute.
Use extracts like vanilla, almond and peppermint to add flavor, instead of sugar or butter. Use herbs and spices, like rosemary and cloves, to flavor dishes instead of butter and salt. Bake, grill or steam vegetables instead of frying, instead of whole milk or heavy cream, substitute low-fat or fat-free/skim milk. Prepare vegetables, eat a balanced meal. Eating your veggies will ensure you get the nutrients you need and will help fill you up so you don’t overload on the foods your body needs less of, such as rolls, stuffing and pie.

Staying Active is a very important step to keep your heart healthy.
Increase physical activity. Go for a family walk after each meal or gathering. Play catch with your kids. Take just 40 minutes for yourself and go to the gym to release endorphin's your body needs to stay healthy. Keep stress to a minimum. Plan ahead  with time management. Focus on one thing at a time.
Taking  out time to relax. Get enough sleep. Quality of sleep can impact your hearts health. Life is a balancing act, but your health should always come first. Now is the time to build heart-healthy habits. That means living a healthy lifestyle, including eating healthy, getting lots of physical activity and a full night’s sleep. Long-term stress causes an increase in heart rate and blood pressure that may damage the arterial walls. Learn helpful stress management techniques for you to reduce stress at work or to reduce stress at home in order to soothe your mind and body. These techniques include deep breathing exercises, daily meditation and finding time each day to do something you enjoy. Find physical activities you enjoy and stick with them. Jogging and yoga are great activities to keep you heart healthy. Regular heart screenings are important for maintaining a healthy heart.

Being Happy is also important for the well being of your heart.

Being Happy enhances the quality of you life and makes the heart healthier.

Just like food is a necessity in our life so is “Being Happy”

We must make an effort to stay in a happy state of mind. If we are happy then we are positive and this gives our immune system a boost. It increases our disease fighting capability.

Things that can do to be and remain happy are as follows.

List the things that give you happiness

It could reading, going out with friends, Playing a musical instrument, taking part in dramatics or theatre or any other activity that involves you positively and gives an outlet for your emotions to keep you happy.

 

 “I am joining the Saffolalife #ChhoteKadam initiative in association with BlogAdda and follow these small steps for a healthy heart.”

Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji so it needs #ChhoteKadam Initiative

Hey is that not a phrase from a popular song? Yes it is but in a lot of ways our Heart needs to be taken care of like a child is taken care of by the parents.You need just three small steps or  #ChhoteKadam to make your heart 50% healthier.

Why do I say this?

Before I answer that let me tell you what does the heart do for you.

To begin with it starts beating for you even before you are born. It keeps pumping oxygen rich blood to every part of your body so that it can function properly.

It works even when you sleep.

Every time we are angry, excited,stressed, afraid on in a pressure situation the Adrenalin levels in our Blood rises and our heart begins to work that much harder.

In fact it works relentlessly throughout our lives and what do we give it?

1) We make it overworked by remaining stressed all the time.

When we are running the rat race of life running after dead lines and getting more stressed. Even being stuck in traffic jams adds to our stress levels and the brunt of all that is borne by our heart.

As our stress levels are high we are more stressed and our breathing gets shallow. Less oxygen gets into our system and we get feel tired and fatigued.

To top it we lead a sedentary lifestyle. We do not exercise and simply slump on to the couch and watch TV. To make things even worse instead of taking a healthy diet we gorge on junk food. Our regular and healthy hunger has taken a hit due to our craving for processed foods that are high in fats, sugars and are unhealthy for our bodies and heart. It is a vicious cycle. We are stressed so we just sit idle doing nothing .Then to feel better we fill our tummies with junk food that is neither good for our body nor our heart. It raises our LDL Cholesterol levels and all this leads to deposits in our arteries and thickening them this leads to hypertension and heart related complications. This increases our stress level further and the vicious cycle is repeated.

So the simplest thing that we can do is remain happy and cheerful.Happiness increases our positivity and our positive attitude leads to happiness.When we are happy our body functions better. Think of all those things or activities that give you happiness and make them an integral part of your daily routine. By doing so you are doing a great service to your heart. These activities can be like going out with your family on outings. Following a hobby. It can be anything that is close to your heart and gives you happiness.You may not be a great singer but still singing for yourself is a great therapy and keeps you happy.

Our body is a self repairing machine. The moment it finds the stress and strain levels going down the body's repair mechanism gets triggered. It boosts the bodies immunity system and prepares us better for a future stressful situation.

A very simple way to help our heart is a stress free brisk morning walk in the morning. The morning breeze is oxygen rich and refreshing and a walk in the park lowers our stress levels and puts us in a healthier frame of mind to face the day ahead. Going for a jog can do wonders for your health and the heart.

Do you know a long relaxing shower can be a great stress buster.

Spending time with a pet or pursuing a hobby or listening to soothing music can do wonders for your heart and health. A 20 minute daily exercise regime, yoga deep breathing and Pranayama are the must do things to take care of our hearts and health.

Eating healthy diets and at regular intervals goes a long way in helping our heart. Replace the processed foods and junk foods with fresh fruits and green leafy vegetables, Pulses and other sources of protein like milk and dairy products can do wonders for our heart and health.

 The simple and basic #ChhoteKadam of "Stay Active" ,"Eat Better" and "Be Happy" are decisive steps in the direction of a healthy heart.

 “I am joining the Saffolalife #ChhoteKadam initiative in association with BlogAdda and follow these small steps for a healthy heart.”

Shop Till You Drop in Jaipur

Jaipur is a mix of the old and the new, traditional as well as modern. On one side there are the glitzy malls and on the other side the traditional bazaars where the locals as well as the tourist can shop till they drop.Here you would find plenty of traditional designs and ethnic color schemes.

My search for authentic Rajasthani designs and traditional leharia work led me to Bapu Bazaar Jaipur.

It is a market made with the traditional pink stones that gives Jaipur its name.

Standing at the entrance I wonder from where to  start shopping as the market is lined with shops selling all kinds of things from traditionally designed Saris for the women to finely crafted jackets for the men.

After comparing the rates and the designs I head towards a shop with the most exhaustive designs and very reasonable pricing.

I am here to buy a Sari for my mom and my second stop would be bangles and foot wear for my sister.

I begin to see the Sari's. Each one is more beautiful than the earlier one.

The shop keeper painstakingly shows, opens and displays each saree one after the other. Every time he does that a plethora of traditional designs and color combination flash before my eyes.

After every display He asks me if he should add the Sari to the shortlisted set of garments? So that I may make a final selection later on.

Now I find this to be a very difficult question to answer for each garment is like a piece of art vying for my attention and I am finding it increasingly difficult to pick one over the other.

I came to this shop with the idea of picking up one Sari but refusing so many beautiful garments is going to be a very difficult task. The Shopkeeper is very patient and helps me go through the short listed set of Sarees . The list has come down to over 25 Sarees. I must admit it has been a brutal decision to pick these and leave the others out .

This shop has a very fine collection of garments. I take a break and look around. They have bed sheets and spreads. Children's garments and traditional suits for ladies

Then my eyes got fixed on a beautiful Lehnga  and I begin to think this would be perfect for my sister.

The choice of Lehnghas are fit for a princess or perhaps a new bride.

 After this refreshing break I get back to work that is to reduce my set of selected sarees further down. I try very hard and trim my selection down to 10.

I do not have the heart or the energy to further reduce the number of sarees so instead of one I ended up buying ten !

I try to reason with my self that one does not come to Jaipur every day and  this wide collection of garments would be hard to find elsewhere.

Since the quality is good and the prices are reasonable I have every reason to complete the purchase.

Before I make the final purchase and leave my eyes get fixed on a traditional bright jacket . Though bright red is not my color and I have never tried it but what is the harm in trying it?

So I give it a try and Hey ! I seem to like it

So it gets added to my list of purchased items.

I ask the shopkeeper where can I find traditional  bangles for my sister and luckily the shop just adjutant to his sells all kinds of bangles.

That is not all a guy is selling the traditional foot wear as well.

Shopping for footwear completes my shopping for the day.

Before I leave I have to note the shopkeepers address so that on my next visit to Jaipur I can do some more shopping.

I can vouch for the designs and pricing. As for the quality the sarees after several uses and regular washing and dry-cleaning are going strong so are certainly made up of high quality material

This is a must visit shop in Bapu Bazaar and within its compound one can get ample variety of not just garments but also bangles and foot wear .