Midas Gold Mornings!

Good Morning, folks! 

That's the first phrase most of us utter every morning, don't we? 

As a kid, I remember myself taking 'Gold' for 'Good', when I had first learnt the phrase from my elders. 

Perhaps, this 'Gold' was not just about the Sun's golden rays lending a shiny appearance to our veranda's marble flooring. It was more about me hopping around the open space, admiring the various hues of the potted plants, observing the now nowhere-to-be-seen sparrows and crawling along with slimy snails who had made the plant soil, their homes. 

I guess there was an inexplicable charm about being so curious about Mother Nature and her many manifestations all around me as a child, which are now gradually being engulfed by the monster made of concrete. Besides, my mantra for 'Good' to 'Gold' was realized by being one of Nature's comrades, without doubt. 

I now see those sun rays struggling to make their way through the towering heights of apartments, with the hues of blooms duller than before owing to pollution. There's another type of 'Gold' I observe in abundance now. It's not hard to guess which one. 

Besides, I have observed a shift in my concept of a 'Good Morning' being 'Gold Morning' by observing some 'Gold Rules to Gold Mornings'. They are as simple as resolving to waking up early in the morning and not being a sleepy head, brushing my teeth twice a day with my Colgate 360 Charcoal Gold toothbrush - after all there's no competition whatsoever to #Colgate360GoldMornings, and after that going for a jog in the community park. 

Thankfully, we have preserved the green cover in our locality. As for breakfast, a hearty toast and a glass of milk are able to usher into me, the vitality needed to witness the day's events. 

This mantra keeps me hale and hearty and has managed to transform my 'Good Mornings' to 'Gold Mornings'. :)

Disco And Barbeque With Bappi Da!

This festive season,  I was invited to celebrate in Bollywood disco style by Barbeque Nation  with none other than Bappi Lahiri in attendance. As we all know, Bappi Lahiri is the man behind launching disco in Bollywood. That is why the Bollywood Disco Carnival at Barbeque Nation associates itself aptly with the great Disco King Bappi Lahiri. The seventeen-day-long disco carnival is being celebrated from December 18 to January 3.

 

All the disco-licious dishes at Barbeque Nation are renamed, inspired by Bollywood disco theme. Meeting legendary Disco King Bappi Lahiri at Barbeque Nation's Jangpura outlet was not only an honor but also a dream come true. He would be visiting various Barbeque Nation outlets during this carnival. The carnival is running in nineteen Barbeque Nation outlets – fifteen in Delhi-NCR region and one each in Jaipur, Lucknow, Mohali and Chandigarh. 

 

The disco carnival running for a period of seventeen days will be full of thrill and entertainment at Barbeque Nation. There has been an overhauling of ambiance at the outlets. The regular ambiance has been transformed to imitating that of a discotheque for this period. The entrance has been made like a giant disco-ball shape decorated with strobe lights to welcome its customers. This is the right beginning to build the mood for the occasion. The interior is much more flashy and jazzy to create right kind of disco theme. There will be flashy disco balls and glow-in-the-dark headbands. The colorful LED dance floor and vibrant surroundings will be enough to take you back to the Bollywood disco period. 

In Delhi-NCR region, the outlets celebrating are situated in Connaught Place, Saket, Jangpura, Vasant Kunj, Janakpuri, Pitampura, Noida, Vivek Vihar. Besides this, you will find it in Gurgaon – Sohna Road and Sushant Lok; and in Faridabad. The average pricing for a meal for two is around ₹1,600. Don’t forget to try the disco-inspired dishes like Bol Bachchan Fish, Singham Prawns and Exotica De Guru on the non-veg front. If you prefer the vegetarian delicacies, then you can try Disco Chat, Sanghmarmar Cheese and Zubi Zubi Guchi Mushroom. 

#KnowYourRights And Raise Your Voice!

If God treats a man and a woman as equal, then what right does anybody on this earth have to treat a woman as being lesser than a man? Who is at fault for creating this difference? Why is our society male dominant? Why a woman is forced to bear being labelled as wrong even if she is right? And why a man is by default right, even if most of the times he is wrong? Why is education said to be more important for boys? Why are a boy and a girl not seen equally and given equal chances to grow in a family, in a society and in a nation? This chaotic scenario is no different in other countries. Everywhere, it is the same.

It is the high time for a woman to stand tall, stay confident and know her rights. It is time for every girl and woman to fight against sexual violence.  It is high time for a family, for a society, for a country and for the whole world to give support and confidence to the women of the world. Pick up the newspaper rendered in any language, being circulated in any country; you are bound to read about a number of stories revolving around sexual abuse. The number of cases related to sexual abuse, sexual harassment or sexual violence is at a rise everywhere. It is not always a stranger who commits this heinous act against a girl child or a woman. Most of the times it is a known individual indulging in such heinous crimes. The worst part is that the number of reported cases is far less than the actual. In India, hardly 1% of the sexual violence cases come into light.

Look at a recent case where a juvenile rapist is being released by the high court. Not only is this alarming but he also being given a substantial amount of money and a sewing machine to start his career, is unpardonable! And all this is happening in the middle of public upheaval with the Prime Minister, other ministers of the country, and other eminent personalities and celebrities voicing their disdain. Probably it is a cluster of loopholes in our books of law that allow all this trespassing right under the nose of judiciary. It also points out at the level of education that if not imparted at the right time, can cause havoc at a later stage in life.

Be it on either side of the gender, a proper education, knowledge and learning is important in the society. A boy is to be taught to be respectful towards a girl. He must learn to be a positive agent in the society rather than nurturing negativity in his persona and becoming a callous and unmindful individual.

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I’m writing this blog post to support Amnesty International’s #KnowYourRights campaign at BlogAdda. You can also contribute to the cause by donating or spreading the word.

The Monster Lies Within!

When will the day come when we will be able to completely eradicate the heinous abuse of sexual violence? The whole world is the victim and the whole world is the culprit. Male dominance might be considered to be one of the major reasons that the whole world has always turned a blind eye to the rights of women. If a woman becomes aware of her rights at the right time in her life, probably she can elevate her stature to a better height in terms of career, education and financial standing, which are considered pivotal to patriarchal mindset.

Probably the problem is within the house instead of elsewhere. The level of confidence that comes from within the house for a girl child, right from the time of her entry in the house, is the point of concern. Within a family itself we observe a big difference in the way a boy is treated from a girl. The kind of astounding attention a boy child gets in the house is demotivating enough for a girl child to feel herself as being sidelined. Leave alone the equal amount of privileges, a girl child is neglected to an extent to not equip with proper education and knowledge. And under these circumstances how do you expect her to feel equal, substantial and empowered enough to raise her voice against any kind of wrongdoing against her?

The society, nation and world come later. First and prime roles to build a strong woman begin within a family. Home is the place where it has to begin, at the right time in life. But a supportive family alone will not suffice the purpose. What if the society is obsessed with male dominance and suppresses anyone raising an alarm against sexual violence whereas at home it is taught not to accept it at any cost? Hence, the society and nation need to be aligned well with this thought process if there has to be change brought to the fore.

A woman has all the rights to raise an alarm against sexual violence or abuse. She has all the rights to see the culprit getting caught and being punished by the law. She has all the rights not to feel ashamed and suffer throughout her life just at no fault of hers. If someone else is at fault, it needs to be seen through appropriately. A strong message has to go the society that nothing of this sort is further going to be acceptable at any cost. Probably, that way, we can at least soon dream to have a fearless world with no cases of sexual abuse, harassment or violence.

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I’m writing this blog post to support Amnesty International’s #KnowYourRights campaign at BlogAdda. You can also contribute to the cause by donating or spreading the word.

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.