Picture Perfect Postcard!

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Pondicherry is now known as Puducherry. It was a French colony until 1954 after which it was declared as a Union Territory (UT). It lies in the south-east part of Tamil Nadu. You can witness French Quarter intact even today, well maintained, sustained and preserved for its beauty and legacy. The tree-lined streets are fabulous to walk-by. The mustard-colored colonial quarters or villas are state-of-the-art and looks like poetry by a poet admiring beauty of nature. Pondicherry is built along the Bay of Bengal and a nice and calm place to stay (or visit). Don’t miss the beaches, surfing and beautiful monuments in Puducherry.

Design: The design as stated above is excellent and unique. It is mesmerizing in all aspects and is one of the strongest attracting factors for visitors and tourists not only from various states of India but from International destinations.  Some more remarkable architecture to mention include 4 meter high Gandhi Memorial that is standing just on the path adjacent to beach. On the opposite side a large number of tall and wide buildings have come up in last few years to accommodate the increasing number of visitors in this small town. Puducherry has an international airport. A few of the must visit places in Puducherry are - Arulmigu Manakula Vinayagar Temple, Seaside Promenade, Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Eglise de Notre Dame des Anges, Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Sri Varadaraja Perumal Temple, Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and French War Memorial.

Drive: A drive inside the town is not possible to be as fast as the roads are not quite wide and multi-lane as per the design. You have to drive slowly but then the traffic never jams here and it keeps moving. Various localities in the town are well connected through road. You get auto-rickshaws and local taxis to move in and around the town. You would enjoy walking on the roads here that give you a calming and soothing feeling as you walk along the sea or within the French colonies. PRTC (Puducherry Road Transport Corporation) and rail are other means of transport on Puducherry that the locales and commuters bank up on.

Connect: Puducherry connect well with its adjacent city Chennai via state highway 49. This highway is also known as East Coast Road (ECR). It is a two-lane highway but goes smooth along the sea side providing you alluring scenic views. This highway connects Chennai with Cuddalore via Puducherry. The East Coast Highway has further been extended up to Thoothkudi going via Chidambaram, Karaikal, Nagapattinam, Nagore, Adirampattinam, Ramnathpuram and Thiruthuraipoondi. The complete stretch is around 700 kilometres from Chennai to Thoothkudi. The same highway is being further stretched to connect it with Kanyakumari from Tuticorin. This stretch will be via Tiruchendoor and Kodankulam.

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This post has been written for #madeofgreat Zonal War in association with IndiBlogger.

#ResponsibleTourism Must Pay Heed...

I am an avid traveler. I love nature. Whenever I travel and meet other fellow travelers on the way, there is always a scope of learning something new. When someone does something bad to nature or something in favor, it is always a learning point for me. Usually, I never preach. I love to demonstrate my thoughts and ideologies through my actions. I have traveled almost all across India. The versatility of India is remarkable. We have seas, deserts, rivers, waterfalls, lakes, mountains and what not. At times, there have been some painful experiences that hurt.

Nature can’t speak, but it always reciprocates. Her law is care for care. If we care for her, she will definitely care for us. If we don’t care for her, she will wait till the break even point. But once her patience is broken then nothing can stop her. Once she reacts it is just destruction all over. It hurts when people travel houses spoil travelers by giving them extra privileges without realizing how much it is impacting nature. AC, heaters, water, energy, food, amenities; everything goes beyond the limit. There are no guidelines set for visitors and travelers in hotels to act as a responsible guest.

For instance, there is no necessity to use a new towel every day. There is not even a need of five towels of varied sizes in a room for a single guest. More towels, more frequently exchanged with the new ones means more washing, cleaning, and wasting natural resources. Similar things must be taken care of by not only the service providers but also the consumers.

It hurts when I see people throwing waste, garbage and food scraps in rivers, seas, on hills, and to malign various other tourist places. Why can’t we set a discipline for ourselves first to adhere to it? Why should we look at others and start behaving like them by breaking all rules? Why should we break rules by observing others doing it?  Why can’t we control ourselves even if we see others doing wrong? Why can’t we rather set an example for others to follow by doing right things at the right place, without any fear?

It is good to see a lot of things happening in this regard now, on a global scale. People at both ends have realized that whosoever does the wrong, nature’s impact would take everyone in its grip without any discrimination. Hope someday we set our rules on our own without waiting for any rule makers. And wish that soon there will be no rule breakers on this earth. When everyone starts loving nature and caring for it the same will come in return, for everyone.

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I am blogging for #ResponsibleTourism activity by Outlook Traveller in association with BlogAdda.

Sharing & Caring Is The Key To #ResponsibleTourism

There are a few guidelines that everyone must follow while travelling. The destination needs to be understood from the core of your heart so as to know the place and its customs well. Act and stay at the destination of your choice as per the local requirements of the place, ecosystem and nature rather than being a stubborn person living in your own world and doing as your own will. This stubbornness might become a fatal factor for the place where you are visiting or staying for a while.

Respect local people as you would like to be respected at your place. Remember that you are at someone else’s home for that matter. You need to learn the rules of the house where you are going to stay rather than taking your own set of rules. Flexibility is the key to sustenance. Adaptability to the core of your actions is what you need to understand. The culture and traditions might be different at your place of a visit, or travel. Try to be one of them when you are there rather than screaming your own songs.

Nature preservation is everyone’s responsibility and everyone understands what need to be done for this. There are two sets of people in this regard – Those who understand but don’t act; and those who keep their doors open to understanding fast and act accordingly. Natural environments need to be preserved and loved as we do at our home.  Natural, cultural and legal adaptability is important about a new place you are visiting. Learn the dependency factors that are the earning and feeding factors for the local communities. Try not to play with those dependency factors. Rather help them in preserving those factors that build their life.

Buy from local markets and use the local transport system rather than bulking your food to a tourist place and taking your big cars there. Enjoy life there in their way rather than taking your own means of enjoyment that could be altogether different from theirs. Stay healthy and spread health around. Don’t indulge yourself into unhealthy practices. Some small actions spread big messages. Probably seeing your good actions at a tourist place might become a lesson for many. Such small things can make big changes in the life of others. Think carefully about each activity of yours at a tourist place.

The local people at a tourist place thrive on tourists. They depend on tourists for earning their bread and butter. Be respectful to a place and the people living there. Try to add something extra in their life every time you visit there rather than taking away something from them.

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I am blogging for #ResponsibleTourism activity by Outlook Traveller in association with BlogAdda.

KAZO Comes To MGF!

Recently, I got a chance to attend the inauguration of Kazo’s newest store based in MGF Metropolitan Mall, Gurgaon. The store is fabulous, compact and brimming with a variety of beautiful dresses, bags and accessories.

Kazo Clothing, as we all know is known for being an international brand with style and vigor. The clothing is always charming and is available at affordable price. Customers visiting the store were amazed by the upped style quotient of the dresses available in the store.

This is the place where modern meets the sobriety. Each of the fabulous dresses available in the store would suit well with one's style and elegance.

 

The store is close to MG Road Metro station, by virtue of being inside the MGF Mall. By road, if you plan to reach the store, just catch NH8, take Exit 6 to the side lane to take a left while coming from Delhi. The coy store in the MGF Mall is always ready to welcoming its customers with a warm welcome. Eloquence is all around. 

 

Kazo Clothing has always been known to introduce modernity in women's dressing in India. The stores have been mapped all across India. There are exclusive Kazo stores in most of the major cities of India. 

Elsewhere, Kazo is present in the form of multi-brand outlets. Wherever Kazo is, it is the star of the region in terms of clothing. 

For every dress here, you find a number of matching bags matching your style and attire. If you have not visited a Kazo Clothing store yet, ensure to visit one, nearest to your base and you are bound to be mesmerized with the variety you will get here. 

Smiley Vermicelli Made Him Smile!

“Beta, please don't have so many desserts, so often!”

“Why Ma? I love desserts more than anything else! Earlier you never used to deny me but now, whenever you prepare something sweet for me, you also preach to me not to have it in excess. Why?” 

“Beta I know you love sweets, and I love this smile which comes on your face, whenever you relish any dessert which I prepare for you with such affection. But, being a mother I am also concerned about your health. You are gaining weight day by day and I am worried that increased sugar intake can lead to diabetes.” 

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Ma was constantly reminding him of the perils of having a sweet tooth, but she didn’t want to keep him devoid of the pleasure of having desserts altogether too! After all, one cannot live with sweetness, can they?

So, she started searching for a healthier alternative. One fine day, she came to know of  Sugar Free Natura as a substitute to sugar. She thought of giving it a try by deciding to make her son’s favorite Vermicelli. The #DessertChallenge here, was if a sweetener could bring the same twinkle in his eyes as spoonfuls of sugar.

Smiley Vermicelli 

Portion Size: 5

Serves: 2

Preparation Time: 10 Minutes

Cooking Time: 10 Minutes

Utensils:

• Vessel  (1) 
• Stirrer (1) 
• Bowl (2)  
• Plate (1)  

Ingredients:

• 500 ml Full Cream Milk
• 1 small bowl Vermicelli
• Almonds and Cashews
• Strawberry Crush 

Recipe:

1. Boil full-cream milk. 
2. Add vermicelli to boiling milk, while stirring for 5 minutes. 
3. Add Sugar Free Natura and stir to dissolve.  
4. Switch off the burner. 
5. Refrigerate for 10 minutes. 

Plating:

• Take thickened Vermicelli in a plate. 
• Garnish it with finely chopped almonds and cashews. 
• Put 1-2 drops of strawberry crush on the top and decorate the plate with a strawberry smiley.
• Serve in small bowls. 

Ankit loved the smiley his Ma made in the plate. Actually, only Ma knew that Ankit couldn’t contrast the sugar she used to add in the vermicelli in the past and the sweetener which had been added - low-calorie Sugar Free Natura - without making any difference to the taste of his favorite dish. So, both the purposes were solved. Healthy and Tasty, at the same time! Bingo, Sugar Free Natura! 

Smiley Vermicelli won Ankit's heart! 

And, Ma couldn't have been happier! :)