HANGOUT

HANGOUT – the name itself sounds fun, isn’t it? Well HANGOUT is a perfect place to have fun, party and relax at the same time and the best part about it is that age is no bar.

HANGOUT is a games café and play area in DT mega mall in Gurgaon and Select City walk mall in New Delhi. I saw this joint many times while I was in DT mega mall but always though that it’s a place for teenagers, so never thought about exploring it.

This year when I was searching for a good place to take my 3 year old son for a joy ride on his birthday, this option was placed in front of me by none other than Mr Google. I was a bit skeptical about it as my son is very young and I thought it won’t be enough fun for him. I took him to Stellar’s museum instead and we thoroughly enjoyed his day.

A few days later when I was alone with my son in the house with nothing much to do, I decided to take him out for a mumma and baby bonding to HANGOUT. We reached the mall and my ever so hyper child was already in high spirits at the mention of an outing (mall for him is any place where we have fun). I was again secretly hoping that it will be worth a visit and I am not disappointed.

I entered and all I saw were car rides, bowling, VR games and what not. I enquired with the front desk and he mentioned that they have a kid’s play area for younger kids. I took a recharge card for 1000 bucks as it has lifetime warranty and although they do not refund the balance amount, you can use it at any of the HANGOUT outlets.

The charges for the kids play area are Rs 300 for an hour and so I let my child in. It was an hour of absolute fun for him as well as me. There was a ball pool, slides, merry go round, see saw, jungle/play gym, doll house, a mini computer with all educational software installed in that area. Adults were not allowed inside but I was able to watch him from outside. Moreover there were attendants appointed everywhere. It was so safe that you can leave your child there and can go out. Although I was there the whole time, my son did not even look at me once.  

One advice for the place would be to carry a pair of socks as it was summer time and my son was wearing sandals without them. They do not allow entry in play area without socks and we had to buy them from the counter which was way above the cost of a regular pair of socks.

After one hour of playing around in the play area my son was still not ready to come out and I had to lure him by showing VR bowling (which he absolutely loves, credits to xbox at his friends’ place). He came out and took rides in various small cars, airplane, jeep etc. Then we did some bowling and collected few tickets as well. There were many other games and rides for elder kids.

On the same day a birthday party was being organized at that place. They have a small restaurant in the corner which had a very pleasant appeal and the part was organized in that area. Suddenly I saw a big monkey walking towards the party area. Jumping monkey is the mascot of HANGOUT and a man dressed in its dress was entertaining kids in the birthday party. I inquired and came to know that people organize birthday parties there quite often and I also found it to be a nice option.

It’s an absolute fun place and next time you mommies want relax with a cup of coffee and heart to heart talk with your girlfriends or husband, take your kids to HANGOUT. Let them enjoy while you relax and it will be a joyful experience for both the age groups.

Fund Raising Event @ RAHGIRI

ONCE UPON A TIME IN KASHMIR….

They too had a home to live in, cloths to wear, footwear to make them comfortable in blasting cold, food to eat and a life to live. One night all hell broke loose and the heaven on earth was covered in darkness. Thunder struck, clouds poured and Jhelum went wild with frenzy against the ill effects caused to nature by human race.

As is the case always, people in Kashmir are facing repercussions of all the global warming caused across the world. They do not have any home left, their means of earning a living are drowned in the floods and there is havoc everywhere.

When people all around the nation are doing their bit to ensure help reaches our fellow countrymen in Kashmir we also tried to contribute towards this noble cause in our own way. My friend Dr Shivani Pall, who is very passionate about her social responsibilities towards the society, initiated and led this entire drive under her registered trust “MEHAAN CHARITIABLE FOUNDATION”.

Shivani and her husband Dr Anuj Pall are doctors and were in constant contact with other doctors in Kashmir. Because of the flood and in absence of proper sanitation the hygiene conditions are very poor in Kashmir currently. This has aggravated the onset of water borne diseases like cholera, typhoid, dengue, malaria etc in the state. There are doctors to attend to the sufferers but not enough medicines are available in such a condition. Hence, it was decided to raise funds for buying required medicines.

Living in Gurgaon gives you a very good platform to reach out to common people and masses through RAHGIRI every Sunday, and so they decided to use this opportunity to address the maximum people. They booked a slot with RAHGIRI team in advance and 14^th Sept, Sunday morning, we all reached the event at around 7 in the morning.

Enthusiastic and with much passion we the team of welfare warriors setup our stall near the center stage. We were carrying hoardings and message boards and so people and media gave us instant attention. People started coming towards us and inquired about the event and organization. We also gave away handouts with the complete information stating elaborately the kinds of general medicines that would be required and why it is required

As per schedule with prior permission we were given the time slot to deliver the speech and create awareness regarding the cause. We were welcomed to the stage very warmly with applaud, as everyone well appreciated our efforts for supporting the cause. After giving a brief introduction about our organization and what we do, we made clear to the crowd that our sole purpose was to bring awareness and extend medical help to the needy people in Jammu and Kashmir. The response was overwhelming as we got good lot of donations on the stage itself. We were delighted to see people coming forward to support us and in return we also gave away chocolates to our young donors as a token of appreciation for their efforts.

We also had solidarity message board with us on which we asked the donors and supporters to write messages for the people stranded in Jammu and Kashmir floods.

All the proceedings and medicines being collected by MCF would be handed over to the Six sigma health, organization (New Delhi) the members of which are pioneers and trustworthy in reaching out to the most needy. 

Let's all support, let's all show solidarity. We want to save lives!!

Mehaan Charitable Foundation
GF,C6-1049, Opposite DLF Summit,
Dlf Phase V,
Sector 55,

Gurgaon. 9871217300, 0124-6614282.

We are thankful to RAHGIRI for providing us the platform and TOI for supporting us through media coverage. Over all we made the best use of our Sunday morning.

The Stellar Children's Museum

It was my son’s third birthday last week and as a couple of my relatives were not available on the day of his birthday so we decided to postpone the celebrations until next weekend. But I wanted to make this day special for him and take him somewhere nice.

After some research and asking around I zeroed upon “The Stellar Children's Museum”.  I know the first thought after looking at this name. Why will anyone take a 3 year old to a museum on his birthday and that too with intention of having fun?  Museums are never fun but boring exhibitions and historical information spread across everywhere in somewhat supposedly interesting forms.

The Stellar Children’s Museum is not a conventional museum at all. It can be termed as a kids play area where they can learn and explore along with having fun. There is no one to stop them from messing around in clay, colors and water. There are huge and variety of blocks for them to explore along with some nooks and corners to hide, jump, climb and roll.

The museum occupies a decent space on second floor of ambience mall and is also a good option for school day trips and birthday party celebrations. It is divided into various logical and physical sections.

SPALSH  IT

As soon as you enter, there is a miniature of a dam created with lots of water. There are some rubber and plastic toys like boats, ducks, balls etc in the water and there is a dummy motor structure which depicts how electricity is generated through water. This miniature damn consist of movable hurdles which can be arranged by kids or their wards to reduce or increase the flow of water in a particular area. This area is termed as “Splash It”. My son is very fond of water so we spent most of our time here.

BUILD IT

Next we moved to the “Build It gallery” where there are life size block along with some magnetic colorful small blocks in different shapes and colors. Kids can try and make different shapes and objects using this. There are also big cardboard puzzle pieces and a dummy skeleton of a racing car. There is a screen console in front of this skeleton which gives a feel to the kid sitting in driving seat as if he is actually playing a VR game (obviously to younger kids).

INVENT IT

The next place we explored was “The Invent It” area where they had some smaller blocks and a small racing track. My son enjoyed making vehicles with wheels from blocks and had a F1 race with his dad. Another interesting part was the roller coaster. There were many different parts which could be joined in variety of ways to create desired shape of roller coaster and then kids can take their balls for a roller coaster ride. There were also some pipes and tubes to represent the idea of gravity, an air blower which will keep a ball in air and many more such things.

CREATE IT

The create it area truly lives up to its name with options like clay modeling, crayon painting, pencil colors, pin art and a glass room where kids can mess around with water color and can live their ultimate fantasy of painting the walls. And you do not have to worry about those cloths; the museum provides aprons for kids. Your kids can enjoy all those things which are usually restricted at home.

LIVE IT

We did not spend much time in this area as this did not interest my kid much. There is a miniature super market with dummy fruits and vegetables along with the weighing machine and shopping baskets. Kids can buy vegetables and cook them in a small kitchen LOL. There is also a doctor’s office, a school and a club house in this area and it gives a complete feel of living in a society to the kids.

DISCOVER IT

This area comprises of small rooms representing different continents connected via tunnels. Inside each room there are panels displaying flora and fauna of that continent along with population. There are push buttons against each animal and kids can enjoy listening to the sounds of different animals here.

Somewhere between these areas there is a wall containing some random utensils and ladles where kids can play music by banging the utensils. An interesting concept was a place where kids were playing music using a shoe sole.

WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE

There are tunnels and cages of different shapes and sizes in this play area. Kids can enter from one side of the tunnel and come out from the other end by passing through obstacles. I never imagined my son will be so fast jumping and crawling everywhere. It was a joyful sight to see him enjoy all of this.

There is an in house café but we did not try it.

The entry fee for kids is as follows:

• 1 hour – Rs 400
• 1.5 hours – Rs 600
•  2 hours – Rs 800
•  More than 2 hours – Rs 900
•  Birthday party – Rs 750 per entry where they provide 80% of their café for cake and snack time for about 1 hour or so.
•  Adults – Free

The place is good for kids from 2-10 years of age and is very kid friendly. They do not allow strollers inside but there is an option to park them just outside the entry.

I highly recommend this place to all the parents as I am sure that you and your children will enjoy this experience.

Please share your views if you visit this place.

My GM Week

So I have heard a lot about the General Motors diet but never tried it because I thought it is tooooo difficult and being the foodie I am, I will never be able to sustain it.

But from past 4 months I was not able to work out due to injury first in my left foot and then as soon as I was able to stand on my two feet the right foot bumped itself in the wall restricting me to bed for another couple of months. Well that might bed an exaggeration, I was not restricted to be but yes I was hopping and limping so could not go for brisk walks, jog or gym :(.

I was getting bothered with my tendency to put on weight by mere thought of food and was thinking about some kind of a diet. When my cloths started snuggling me around I prepared my mind to go the GM way and it helped me loose that extra fat I gained while sitting idle.

The diet really works if you are doing some kind of yoga or walk along with it but still I lost about 3-4 kgs without any kind of physical workout. The best part is you feel a lot lighter on your stomach after this diet and specifically for me even after the diet was over I did not feel the urge to snack upon cookies, chips or any other kind of junk food between meals. Yes it is difficult specially the first 2 days but once you make up your mind it is not that hard.

So here I am sharing the day by day account of my GM diet which you can try before any wedding or special occasion to fit in your favorite dress.

Day 1

Day 1 is dedicated to fruits and fruits only. You can eat all and any kind of fruits except for banana. Along with fruits you need to drink loads of water, around 10-12 glass. Following is the kind of menu you should follow:

• 1-2 glass of warm water after you get up.
• Breakfast could be 1 Apple/Some watermelon/Musk Melon .
• Mid morning: 1 chikoo/1 pear/1 pomegranate and with lots of water.
• Around noon take some orange/grapes/cherries to munch on.
• Lunch time around 2-3 mixed fruit bowl.
• Evening around 5-6 1 chikoo/1 pear/some grapes/cherries/Plums.
• Diner time mixed fruit bowl.
• You can drink fresh lime water with some honey in it between meals or some fresh coconut water.
• Avoid any kind of milk product including tea.
• You can drink green tea between meals.
• The trick is to take small potions 5-6 times so that you do not feel hungry.

Day 2

Vegetable day. Eat all vegetables raw or cooked on this day. Cooking can be done in very less olive oil.

• Start morning with 2 glasses of warm water.
• For breakfast eat 1-2 boiled potatoes. You can make a potato chat by adding some green chilies, fresh coriander, tomatoes, lemon and chaat masala to it. Optionally you can add some butter if it feels to dry to you.
• mid morning around 12' o clock eat a salad bowl with cucumber, tomatoes, lettuce, bell peppers and some lemon or vinaigrette dressing. Do not put any oil or cream based dressing in this salad.
• For lunch you can cook some tasty mix vegetable in olive oil or even without it. Saute some onions and tomatoes in non stick with only half a tea spoon olive oil (or without it) and add some peas, mushrooms, cabbage, carrots, capsicum, beans and cauliflower to this. You can add some spices like salt and pepper and even some soy sauce and tomato ketchup.
• In evening you can make a corn chaat with some american sweet corn (very little), onions, cucumber, carrot, tomatoes and bell peppers in lemon, salt and black pepper dressing. Make sure to add less corns and more vegetables as corns are high in starch.
• For dinner eat another bowl of salad with either mix vegetable or any other veggie. I prefer a big bowl of bottle gourd (ghiya) cooked in tomatoes and green chilies. 
• Again drink loads of water (10-12 glass), fresh lime, green tea etc.

Day 3

This day is a combination of fruits and veggies sans bananas and potatoes.

• 2 glass of warm water in morning.
• Breakfast should be a fruit 1 apple/watermelon/musk melon.
• Mid morning or noon eat a bowl of mixed fruit or a salad bowl. 
• Lunch will be a mix veg and salad bowl if you have eaten fruit bowl at mid afternoon. If you ate salad previously then you can combine mix veg with some fruits for lunch.
• In evening with green tea you can again eat any fruit chikoo/pear/plums/grapes/pomegranate/mango as per you linking.
• In dinner you can eat a corn salad/green salad/mix veg/any other vegetable along with some papaya.
• Drink loads of water and a couple of glasses of fresh lime if needed without sugar.

Day 4

Bananas and milk only. On this day you can drink up to 3 glasses of milk and eat up-to 8 bananas. You can make cold coffee, banana milk shake or plain milk but limit the amount of sugar intake. Drink lots of water and you can also drink GM wonder soup if you feel hungry, which you will not because bananas and milk are quite heavy on stomach.

Day 5

After being devoid of any carbs on the first four days, today is the day you can eat some actual food. The fifth day is brown rice and tomato day. You can eat as many as 6 tomatoes as salad and 1 cup of brown rice.

I made tomato rice with brown rice and added some green chilies and salt to it but without any oil. You can divide your 1 cup of rice in 2 or 3 meals and consume them at different meal times along with raw tomatoes.

And not to forget loaaaaadddsss of water. Around 14 glass.

Day 6

This day is again brown rice but with mix vegetables.

• Eat some salad for breakfast. Optionally you can add some corns in your salad to add taste to it but the dressing should not be oil or cream based.
• Make a mix vegetable pulao with 1 cup brown rice without any oil and spices. You can add green chilies, salt and pepper to this. Divide this in 2-3 portions and consume at different meal times.
• Between meals you can eat as many salad and vegetables as you want.

Day 7

Again you have to eat 1 cup brown rice with as many vegetables and salad this day. You can also drink fresh fruit juices this day. Drink loads of water along with juices.

By this day you will be feeling much lighter and an average person loose around 3-5 kg (even more in some cases depending on your metabolism) with this diet.

I will soon be adding some GM diet recipes in my Sanjhi Rasaoi blog so keep looking for them.

A Weekend around Delhi

Being a working couple in a city like Gurgaon leaves you with no time to plan long trips with friends and family. On the other hand the growing job pressures and never ending social obligations makes us want to plan a getaway every once in a while.

That happens with everyone and I am no different. Every few months I feel like getting away from my crazy lifestyle but with only weekend at our disposal it becomes difficult to go anywhere fa rtoo often and we plan long trips only once or twice a year. So whenever the urge to get away becomes too strong we usually book a decent resort in near vicinity and enjoy our time in luxury.

Several luxury resorts have cropped up near NCR in the recent past which offer multitude of facilities and lucrative offers to the maddeningly busy corporate people. These resorts are in close vicinity thus saving up on time and cost of travel, which can be spent on more constructive activities. You can relax and unwind in luxury while spending time with your near and dear ones and without bothering about hours of travel on return journey as that is what most people dread….THE RETURN JOURNEY.

I have done my share of resort experience on various occasions and thought about penning down a few destinations around NCR. Out of these, few I have experienced and others are places I am considering for my future weekend stint.

   Best Western Country Club Resort 

One fine Saturday morning our friends called and said that they have received an SMS regarding this amazing deal at the Best Westin Resort. We were bored and decided to check it out. As simple and quick as that we enjoyed our leisurely weekend at the Best Westin Resort.

Our package was lunch, evening snacks, dinner and breakfast included. It was weekend so an evening bar by the pool was set with karaoke to enjoy. There was an indoor DJ party option also available so we made the most of both the opportunities. They also have rain dance, horse riding, baggi ride, camel ride, a duck pond, play area for kids, live chess board area, rifle shooting and other games for kids along with the kids and adult pool.

The food is also good with many options and facility is beautiful with neat and clean rooms.

Best Western resort is about 45 kms from Delhi International airport towards Manesar and is a very good option if you are planning outing with kids.

  Tarudhan Valley by Seasons Hotel, Manesar 

Tarudhan Valley resort is around 40-45 kms from Delhi International airport, in Tehsil Taru, Gurgaon.

We have visited the facility many times as walk-in customer but have never stayed there but have heard that rooms are pretty decent and clean.

It is a beautiful property with a wonderful golf course, which of course is out of bounds for non-members. The breakfast and lunch buffet are a decent spread and food is good. Though there can be some improvement in there service which is slow. Some very basic things like missing sauce and cutlery at the table can be taken care of.

There is a spa, swimming pool and a games room but not great too many activities for kids. It is good to stay if you are in large group or are looking for a peaceful getaway sans any recreational activities.

  Westin Sohna 

This is a 5 star property in Sohna and therefore bit on the expensive side, but you will not mind paying the money for the kind of services you get there.

It is a beautiful property with excellent food and amazing service. The rooms and bathrooms are very neat and clean and staff is quite helpful. The best part is their kids club which offer loads of activities for kids like painting, board games, xbox etc along with attendants, so you can keep the kids busy while you enjoy that spa. They also offer various recreational activities such as horse riding, cycling, star gazing etc.

If you want a weekend getaway with luxury and want the kids to have fun, this is the place you must consider.

 Tree House Resort 

While Westin Sohna provides you the complete luxury with xbox and video games, the Tree house resort on NH-8 provides you luxury in more rustic kind of a way. This beautiful resort is directly opposite Amity University on NH-8 and is a nature’s paradise.

If you want to spend a weekend in the lap of nature then place is surely recommended. The “Nests”, as they call their rooms, are perched on top of trees and have some branches running right through them, which is a very different concept. They have very good staff with equally good food and wide variety of options in the buffet. Trust me you will not be disappointed on food front here.

The whole resort gives you a feel like staying in the jungle and they have some rabbits, chickens, ducks, peacocks etc which can be a nice experience for our city kids.

They also have multitude of recreational activities such as cricket, football, tennis, golf, camel riding, spa, chess, carom and billiards.

If you are a nature lover and want the feel of living in a jungle then this place is a must visit. It is a very rare concept and should be explored while you are in Delhi.

  Heritage Resort, Manesar

The Heritage resort is around 45 mins drive from Delhi International airport on the NH-8. The property is very beautiful with lush green gardens and old palace like building. The outdoor swimming pool area is very nice and the place is huge and idle for taking long walks in a good weather.

We never stayed there but have dined in the restaurant as walk-in customer so I do not have much idea about their rooms and services.  We had lunch there and I found the food and service good but have heard some complaints about their services by stay in customers’.

They have about 6 restaurants serving different type of cuisines, including an outdoor setting as well. There is a spa and various recreational activities like TT, billiards etc.

This can be a good option on a day of nice weather for long drive, nice location and some good food in luxury if you do not want to stay.

 Chomu Palace Hotel 

Want to live like royalty, try Chomu Palace near Jaipur. Well I myself have not been to this place but have heard about it from a couple of friends who are from Jaipur.

This is a huge palace in Chomu which have been converted to a luxury hotel. The whole ambiance is great and staying here is an experience of its own but the food is nothing to boast about. Being a luxury property the service is good and staff helpful.

There is a spa, swimming pool, gym and library but no other recreational activities so it if you plan to spend a weekend here the best activity will be to explore the palace.

The place is a little far from Delhi but closer to Jaipur so can be a different kind of one night stopover on your next trip to Jaipur.

There are many other options as well and I am currently researching on them. Will share them soon so that you can choose and pick your favorite destination.

My Dream World

“I believe in everything until it's disproved. So I believe in fairies, the myths, dragons. It all exists, even if it's in your mind. Who's to say that dreams and nightmares aren't as real as the here and now?”

I woke up with a smile on my face today. I do not know why but I was feeling very happy. While sipping my morning coffee I started analyzing about mycontended state of mind. It is then that I realized that I had a really sweet dream about me and my old girlie group of friends where we were enjoying our stay in a luxurious five star property in Goa sans kids and husbands. It was so real that I was still able to feel the fun and joy and I felt completely relaxed as if I actually had that holiday.  Feeling of such bliss just by dreaming….wow!!!

I started contemplating. It was not the first time that I was feeling this. Every sweet dream makes me happy whereas nightmares always make me jump out of my bed to spend the remaining night watching TV. Then there are some dreams which are so irrelevant that I cannot categorize them at all and they leave me confused or laughing on the sheer absurdness.

I thought about doing a little research on this subject and I started with what are dreams and how we have them.

Types of Sleep:

As per scientists we have two types of sleep:

•  REM (Rapid eye movement) Sleep
•  NREM (Non Rapid eye movement) Sleep

While we sleep our body oscillates between REM and Non REM and REM is the stage where we explore the world of our dreams. NREM also has different stages starting from light sleep, then a stage where body prepares to enter deep sleep and very deep sleep.

As kids the amount of NREM is greater and it keeps on decreasing as we grow in age. If you have an infant or toddler in your home then you can easily notice REM sleep whilst they are sleeping.

A Sudden Fall:

I always wondered how I have a feeling of a sudden fall followed by a muscle contraction while sleeping. When I talked with a couple of my friends they agreed that the same occurs with them also. My curiosity ended when I read somewhere that this is normal during stage 1 of NREM (light sleep) and not only this, my falling syndrome has a fancy (read scientific) name as well “hypnic myoclonia”.

We Share a Dream:

The next thing I wanted to know was why there are certain types of dreams which keep on repeating in sleep.

Many times I get this dreadful dream that I have a college exam for which I have not prepared and sometimes am not even aware of the subjects and textbooks. Very often I dream about a broken tooth or missing footwear in middle of the dirtiest road.

I started jotting down the most common type of dreams which I have had. I also tried to find out possible causes for having such dreams and after searching various sources came up with the following.

1.       Exam Time - This type of dream generally depicts one in middle of an exam or test unprepared. Many people view their school or college even though its ages since they attended any.  I particularly have a very stressful feeling in such dreams as mostly I am unaware of this exam and have long forgotten all courses (I am aware in this dream that I was in college long ago). Analyst suggests that this could be the result of a deep anxiety of being unprepared for any task at office (mainly) or in any other aspect in life.

2.       Falling of a tooth – This is another category which keeps haunting me. Although not a typical nightmare but this one always leaves me agitated about the day I will start losing all my teeth (ya I know one day it is bound to happen but still ….). Naturally this category of dream has been associated with a person’s eagerness to look good and presentable at all the times.  We typically have this type of dream when we are very conscious of our appearance.

3.       Chasing – I know everyone have had this kind of dream at least once in their lifetime. I have had this many times in various variations. Many times I am trying to run away from some person, never seen who though. Sometimes I am trying to catch a train or trying to reach somewhere but somehow am unable to move my legs. Another variation of this is trying to call out for help but not able to find my voice. My analysis on various sites suggested that these are different categories (Getting chases, getting late or trying to catch a train and unable to move your limbs) but the crux of all seemed same. They suggest some problem in our life we are trying to run from but obviously cannot. This can also suggest a situation in your life where you feel helpless or out of control.

4.       Under dressed in public – Many times I end up with a dream where I have either lost or broken my shoe or sometimes even have forgotten to don them. Upon looking I found that there is a complete category for this kind of dreams where people see that they have turned up for an interview or an important meeting without a proper dress or shoes or maybe even naked sometimes. The meaning of this dream is that you are feeling exposed, awkward, or vulnerable, or you are afraid that you have revealed too much of yourself (such as a secret or a very personal feeling) in a real life situation.

5.       Getting Late – I know many of us have had this dream. This could be a result of a deep feeling of having missed an important occasion or opportunity in your life.

6.       Falling – Falling from height or drowning in water dreams indicate that we have a situation in life where we have given up all hope and are just waiting for things to take their own course of action.

7.       Death – Death dreams often leave me shattered especially when I see some near and dear one dying in my dreams. I tried to find out the cause behind such dreams as many a times this nightmare leaves me with a feeling that this might be sign that my loved one is in danger. Dream analyst suggests that you can see your or some loved one’s  illness or death if you (or they) are already ill or have recovered from a prolonged illness, whereas if you see some person of less significance die then it could mean that you do not want that person in your life.

8.       Sleep Paralysis – This has happened to me only twice in my lifetime till now. In this situation I was aware that I am awake and could see everything around me (although very hazy and dazy …lol) but was unable to move my body. This is a whole different category and I will elaborate it in my next blog on this topic. So, stay tuned for my next blog on SLEEP PARALYSIS.

Well these are just a few categories I was able to define as per my experience of the dream land. Of course there are many different dreams I could not categorize at all and experts suggests various other categories as well.

I read somewhere that keeping a dream general helps you find out the deeper meaning to your dreams and connect them with your real life situations. I will surely try this out and will share my experiences.

It would be fun if everyone in the circle can share there weirdest dreams and also there possible meaning to them. So let’s rock it friends…waiting for your dream world to unfold.

“People think dreams aren't real just because they aren't made of matter, of particles. Dreams are real. But they are made of viewpoints, of images, of memories and puns and lost hopes.”

A Weekend Trip to Neemrana

It was our first wedding anniversary and we had a weekend at our disposal. We wanted to spend this time between ourselves and not offering 3D (Drinks, Dance and Dinner) parties to relatives (like on our wedding).

I started looking for options for place around Delhi so that we do not have to spend the entire weekend driving to a faraway hill station. After exploring a lot of options, I finalized the heritage Neemrana Fort resort in Alwar.

Since we booked at last time so there were not many options left but we booked a double bed room known as GulabMahal (The pink Room). There are various categories of rooms available in Neemrana and you can get the list at the following link:

http://fort-palace.neemranahotels.com/rooms

On the day of our anniversary (Saturday) we started in the morning for our weekend stint. It took us nearly 3 hours to reach there because of the road condition and also because the road to Neemrana could be easily missed if you are too lost in that music in your car.The road to the fort is pretty steep and narrow; so you need to be very careful.

As I got out of our car the view was breathtaking. Neemrana is a beautifulllllll fort on a small hill, overlooking the valley (read jungle) and very well maintained. It was like being transformed to a different era of rajas and maharajas.

Our room was on level 3 in old wing and we followed a passage to a huge lobby with old wooden chairs, tables and swings to reach GULAB MAHAL. Everything was quaint and vintage, the bed, dressing table, small sofa and the cute little jharokha (small balcony) from our room.

After freshening up in state of the art bathroom we started our tour of the fort. It is a huge fort with narrow passages, hanging garden, many terraces and a bawari (small water body where queens used to swim). There are also modern facilities available in the fort like swimming pool, spa, games room etc.

All the rooms in Neemrana are quite secluded from one another and you will not get the feel of being in a populated resort. They give you the complete atmosphere of an old fort with no one in near sight which became a little spooky for me in the night. In fact at one point during our day tour we reached a garden which was very dense with various species of trees and plants and we could not see anyone around and the whole environment gave me goose bumps.

I think this whole environment is set on purpose to give people a real feel of olden times.

I am not sure about other rooms but our room did not have a TV but there was a common TV and games room. Then there are various activities like zipping (adventure activities), camel ride, tour in vintage car, step well trek and a very good spa.

Highlight of our stay was the evening high tea, which is served on a terrace overlooking the beautiful sun set (inclusive in your stay package) and is an amazing with various varieties of teas, cakes, cookies and Indian snacks like pakoras. It was a real therapeutic experience.

On most Saturdays they have cultural activities for the in house guests and we enjoyed our share of rajasthani dance and music. There was a very good setup on one of the varandas, with bar, snacks and multiple cultural kaleidoscope followed by a buffet dinner in the outdoors. The buffet dinner was a bit disappointing as it was not at all value for money. The charges were 2500 per person and choice was very limited with a poor taste.

We took another tour in night as the fort looked beautiful with all its lights, just like a birthday cake with millions of candles. Another annoying thing at night was the cats in the fort. They kept on howling whole night and added to my spooky feeling, although my husband found it quite amusing and funny. As per him it was their mating call.

Breakfast, which was included in our package, was a reasonably good spread and was again set out in one of the verandas but there was an indoor option too.  Since it was beginning of November we enjoyed ours outside while soaking up the sun.

All in all it was a very good trip and we enjoyed the beautiful fort. I would definitely want to go there again but would prefer a day trip this time.

The Day Trip

The day trip to Neemrana can be done by booking your tour in advance with a charge of 500 per person on weekdays (9:00 am to 3:00 pm) and 750 per person on weekends (12 noon- 3:00 pm).

In day tour people are allowed to visit only the public areas for two hours and other facilities like pool, spa and evening tea are not available, but you can have buffet lunch which is reasonably priced at 1100 (weekdays)/1200 (weekend) per person.

Neemrana is a beautiful heritage fort and I would suggest it as very good day trip or weekend trip option for people staying in Delhi NCR. The best time to visit would be from Oct to Feb as it could be quite hot in summers.

So enjoy the trip and do not forget to share your experiences… good and bad both.

A Toddler In My Kitchen !!!

I entered the kitchen and saw that refrigerator door is open and my two and a half year old son is busy finding something in it.  Upon asking he said "I am working mom. I will cook food for everyone and will help you." I was speechless and completely bowled by his answer. The degree of love I felt for him at that moment can not be described in word, but I am sure every mother out there can understand that.

This made one thing clear that my son wants to spend some time with me while I am in kitchen busy cooking food for the household. Cooking food is a task that can not be avoided but I can ensure that my baby is involved in it so that we spend some quality time together.

But kitchen is not a safe place for small kids so I thought of planning some fun cooking activities with him which were completely safe. Before starting these activities I patiently explained him that stove is hot and kids are not supposed to go near it. I also removed all the sharp materials like knifes and peelers from lower cabinets to a higher one. After going through this complete exercise we jumped into cooking safe food where my son could help me.

I am listing down a few activities for benefit of other moms.

Butterfly Sandwiches

Sandwiches can be made in different forms and with a variety of ingredients and are a complete breakfast for anyone. They do not involve any cooking and can be easily done with help from a kid.

• Take some bread slices and remove corners
• Cut a single slice in half diagonally so that each part is a triangle
• Slice some cucumbers, tomatoes, boiled eggs, olives, cheese slices or fruits and put in a dish
• Optionally you can also make some filling like a scrambled egg or mix veg and add some mayo to it
• Put some kind of sandwich spread or cheese spread on the table
• Now you can ask your toddler to arrange these slices in form of a butterfly by joining two triangles from there top point, back to back
• After that put the dish full of different slices you have made and ask your baby to arrange it on the bread in any way he/she wants. You can also put a filling between two slices
• You can also open the bread spread and ask him/her to spread it on the sandwich.
• Help him/her make a butterfly shape by arranging different fruits and vegetables

Learning Shapes

Learning shapes could be more of a fun if done in way where your kid can enjoy it. For this activity you will need the following:

• Cookie cutters of different shapes
• Bread
• Jam
• Nutella chocolate spread
• Tutti fruity, colored mouth fresheners, crushed nuts or gems

Now the fun begins:

• Remove the sides of the bread and keep in front of your kid
• Give him/her cookie cutters of different shapes (use plastic cutters for safety purpose)
• Let them cut different shapes and ask them to tell you about each shape they have cut
• After they are done cutting the shapes put some jam or nutella chocolate spread in front of them and help them spread it over the bread
• Once done put assortment of crushed nuts, gems, chocolate chips or even chopped fruits in front of them and ask them to decorate the shapes

This will keep the child busy and will make a great dessert for everyone in the family

Coated Fruits

This is a  fun way to keep your child busy as well as make him/her eat the fruits. 

• Chop some fruits and place in a bowl
• Crush some cookies in a zip lock bag and put it in another bowl
• Take a container with a lid and ask your child to place 3-4 pieces of his/her favorite fruit in it
• Then ask him/her to put some crushed cookies in the container
• Ask him/her to close the lid and have fun shaking the fruit. Kids usually love shaking and banging. Let them have fun time doing this
• Once they are done shaking ask them to take it out in a dish and let them repeat the process till they tire
• Later they can eat their own creation

Jam Rolls

My son is absolutely fascinated with the rolling pin and always asks for some dough and rolling pin whenever I am making chapatis. Since dough is sticky he always used to make a mess and ended up in wasting a lot of it. Then I thought of this particular snack which he can do easily and eat also afterwords without wasting anything.

• Take some bread slices and remove their corners
• Let your child sit on the dining table and put the bread in front of him on a chopping board
• Give him the rolling pin and let him enjoy the process of flattening the bread till the time you are cooking your chapatis
• Once you both are done you can ask him to spread some jam or peanut butter on the bread and roll it to make jam rolls.

I hope you will enjoy these simple recipes with your kids. Have fun with that toddler in your kitchen.

Goa!!!! In April???????

It was more than a year that we had not gone out for a holiday. Various responsibilities, family weddings, office work contributed to our dilly dallying the much required break.

It was almost March and I was dying for a chutti. One look at the calendar and we knew that April had a really good potential for taking a week off with 3 official holidays coming up together in a week.

Me and my husband applied for leaves and the next big question was where should we go. Since it was April and beginning of a hot Indian summer, everyone's usual suggestion was any hill station. Being a Delhite I have been going to all sorts of hill stations all my life and I really did not feel like spending an entire week on a mall road. I wanted to go to a beach destination and Goa was my ultimate choice.

What??? Goa, in April!!!!! was everyone's reaction. "you people must be crazy to even think about Goa in April. It is off season, there will be no shacks and beaches will be up and on top of that it will be so hot that you people will not be able to step down on any of the beaches."

My husband got a little skeptical by hearing all this but I was adamant. I started looking on goggle to find out how is Goa in April. To my disappointment, I could not find anything which gave me a fair idea of GOA in April. There were some Yahoo and trip adviser queries and most of them were answered by people from Europe or US.  As we all know Europeans and Americans have different parameters for what is hot and whats not than Indians, I was not satisfied by these findings.

I listened to my gut and booked Goa for a week in April with my whole family. After coming back I thought of sharing my experiences with people so that anyone else going through a dilemma like me can have a clear picture.

We boarded for Goa on a morning flight on 14th of April. I was dreading the moment when we will land there and was totally expecting heat and humidity welcoming us. When we got out of the airport all my fears were subsided by a cool breeze and it was about 2 in the afternoon. I was quite happy with this warm errr cool welcome.



We hired a taxi and reached our hotel the Silver Sands Resort at the Condolim beach. We have booked here for two days and for rest of the three days we had a booking at Terra Perrasio Resorts at Calangute.

The resort looked really good from outside and we were all in all happy. The rooms of the resort were very basic and did not match up to my expectations, but they were clean. Wherever I stay my first preference is a neat and clean bathroom and so I was satisfied in that aspect at least.

After relaxing and changing we came out and my son was excited to see the swimming pool. He could not wait for us to even finish our tea. I took him to shower room near the pool and it was stinking badly of urine. I could not make myself go inside so we avoided that shower and my son landed in pool with his grand dad.

Meanwhile me and my husband decided to go for a walk on the beach which was 5 mins walk from the resort. The beach was nice and there were many shacks still up and bustling with activity.

We avoided any meals at the resort except for our complimentary breakfast which was nothing to boast about. They were not at all accommodating if someone did not eat eggs. When my son did not eat his sandwich, I thought of keeping it in a napkin so that I can make him eat later on but that was also not acceptable to the staff.

All in all it is a decent enough resort if you are looking for budgeted hotels which are neat and clean, and quite close to the beach but do not expect any luxury.

Our second accommodation at Terra Perassio was simply amazing. It is a small resort but beautifully made and really good and spacious rooms. Their room service is also up to the mark and the food at in house restaurant is great. They were very helpful when I asked them to cook paranthas or stuffed kulchas without any spices and were ready to customize food as per our needs. Breakfast was also a lavish spread with live egg counter. variety of fruits, bf cereals, juices, 3 main dish and an assortment of breads.



As far as weather is concerned it was certainly hot in the day time and going to beach after 10 and before 4 was simply out of question. Morning and evenings were cool and breezy and that used to be our beach and shack time. During the noon the breeze was cool if you were in shade and we spent that time either in pool or sight seeing like old Goa and forts.

Although the foreigners as usual used to relax on their recliners whole day on the beach but I was not able to even walk on the beach because sand was quite hot during afternoon. Water sports and activities were still on and we enjoyed our share of it.

Because it was off season the beaches and shacks were less crowded than the madness we have in peak season. All in all it was a great holiday and we did not feel like we are in a hot oven ready to be baked.

We came back with some very good memories and an experience to advice people who really want to go Goa in April due to any crazy reason like me. Yes, it wont be as pleasant as in December but you can still go and enjoy cool morning and evenings and avoid those hot afternoons. So Goooooooo Goooooooooooa!!!

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Twinkle twinkle little star... how I wonder what you are??

It is 7:30 am in the morning and news paper guy has still not arrived. I am pacing up and down in anxiety while my tea is getting cold. My mom in law asked me to have the tea while its hot as that's the way I like it but I went to the balcony to look out for the paper wala. Suddenly I heard a bang on the door and I went rushing down to collect today's newspaper. As usual I gave the main paper to my father in law and leafed through the pages of my Delhi Times. There it was... my today's fortune.. CAPRICORN.

Now I picked up tea and asked my maid to re heat it. Though I do not like re heated tea but I guess that's the price I have to pay for my luck.

I rushed through the remaining news paper and glanced at my antique wall clock. Its 8:00 am and I am late for office. After having a quick bath and almost gobbling my breakfast I rushed out of the house. As I started my car my forecast's line flashed through my mind .. "avoid rash driving". I smiled and raced my car towards the highway.. Thanks to my news paper guy I was already late for office and to grab a perfect parking spot I should drive fast. Well fast is not rash, is it?

I reached office and saw that Saumya, Akash and Ranjeeta are sitting close together looking like triplets in blue color cloths. Not again I thought. Last Friday all three of them were in yellow and the day before that in different hues of green.

After working continuously for 4 hours I felt hungry. I do not care if my fortune said "treat work as worship". I will first treat my stomach and then will worship my work. Since no one else saw in a mood to eat food, I went to everyone's desk and yanked them up.

Lunch time is always fun, sharing food, recipes and office hot gossip. After finishing lunch I took out my fruit box and was delighted to see my favorite mango in it. As a custom as passed it around so that everyone can have their share.

"Yikeeees", shrieked out Saumya and spitted the mango out. I looked surreptitiously at the mango thinking it might be rotten or something to drag such a reaction from Saumya.

 "Yikeeeeeees" she shouted again, "I am not supposed to eat that" she said. Upon asking, she admitted that her forecast warned her to keep away from any and everything yellow. Suddenly Akash and Ranjeeta also stopped eating explaining that all three of them are Taurians. So that sums up the color coded cloths I guess.

When we went back to our workstations I saw Sachin sitting in a rather sullen mood. On inquiring, he said that his onsite travel plan is getting postponed every week. According to him his weekly forecast read "A travel can happen this week", but nothing is happening. I tried to console him by saying that many people have the same star sign and more than half of the star signs every week predicted a travel. That does not mean that all the people of that star sign will travel together every week,

After consoling him I sat thinking, how a two line forecast in morning newspaper can affect our mind and soul. I also read the forecast everyday but treat it more like a fun reading, something like reading archies or garfield strips on the same page. I never thought that it has the power to affect people so strongly. Someone does not want to drive down to office in his red car because his forecast read "Red is dangerous" whereas someone is avoiding having a bath as his forecast advised to avoid water. As hilarious and funny it may sound but this could be a serious issue.

Millions of people around the world have same sun sign. They can in no way share the same two line prediction. Moreover these predictions are so generic and ambiguous with words like "May", "Can", "good to avoid", "your hard work will pay off this week". When I picked up few months' newspapers, I saw same or similar words doing a rotation between different signs. If it is supposed to be so serious then why is it clubbed with comic strips and crosswords on the entertainment page. To take it seriously or not is one's own perspective but all this makes me wonder what these stars are and what kind of power they have...and they make me recite the favorite nursery rhyme of all times

Twinkle twinkle little stars
How I wonder what you are!!
Up above the world so high
Like a diamond in the sky!!!