How little eyes perceive it!

I love to travel, in fact I am extremely passionate about it. I have travelled with friends and family and have discovered that each companion adds a different flavor to your vacation. In fact a great travel diary, is not only about adventures and nature’s extravaganza, but it also comprises of the tales with fellow travelers. A good vacation is never complete without compatible companions. However when I came across this happy hour contest “Teddy travelogues” in Indivine by Club Mahindra, I was not sure whether I am eligible for participation, because though I am married, I yet to be a mother.

In fact before my travel to Goa this October (Diwali vacation), I virtually had no experience of having a vacation with kid (s). It was a sudden decision to spend the festival of lights amidst the tranquility of Goan beaches. And as always we asked all our close friends, if they intended to join. As expected not many friends answered with a green signal, after all Diwali is ideally spent with family. At the end, we were a group of five including a two year old kid, to set forth to spend a few days together in the serene yet ecstatic tropical paradise.

little Darshu...having fun

I really for the first time, appreciated how a little kid can change the flavor of a vacation, and fill it with pure innocence and candidness. Darshu as we call him, is really a super kid. Besides his little issues with food, he really made it easy for us to have a smooth and euphoric vacation. In fact his very presence, the innocence in his eyes, his soulful laughs and his unvarnished emotions brought out the kids in us. We cherished every moment watching him enjoy himself to the fullest.

Enjoying by the pool

Both us and our friends (Darshu’s parents) Snehasis and Dolan are members with club Mahindra and from our experience we can safely conclude that it does keep in mind the preferences of kids while designing their facilities. The resort in Goa has all the amenities that attract the fancies of the little ones and keeps them busy with the promise of a great vacation. In the meantime, the grown-ups can also have their share of fun and chill. For more details on the features that “Club Mahindra” provides on the facilities related to kids, please check their website: Teddy Travelogues.

Happy with Mom and Dad

From my first experience of travelling with a kid, I have known that kids need their share of space and attention. It is important to provide them with the facilities where they can keep themselves engaged and have fun. After all it should be appreciated by us (adults), that their way of perceiving things and enjoying is not same as ours. They may not be interested in the Magnum Opus created by nature, which might otherwise overwhelm us. They ideally do not need known faces and common subjects to have fun, all kids are each other’s friends. What they need is engagement, a toddler pool, a lovely park or playground some similar age group kids, a good activity area can make their vacation great. It’s also very important to arrange for proper and correct type of food for them, I appreciate Club Mahindra for being extremely supportive and giving special attention to the food for kids. I guess after this experience, when I travel with my own child, I will find it easier to appreciate his/her needs. After all no vacation is complete without witnessing the happiness of co travelers. And if the co travelers are kids, the responsibility and the associated felicity increases manifold.

All of us having fun by the beach

Aritra Chakrabarty Sengupta

A rainy winter morning!

I was in college that time, doing my graduation in Chemistry from Calcutta University. I loved going to college, mostly because I had great friends there. But who wants to leave the warmth of a quilt and set forth with a bag, when it rains that too in winter? Not me at least!

It was December and chill had slowly cropped into the breeze, sleeping under the soft and warm quilt had an added attraction. The inherent laze attached to the cold months has no power to interrupt regular activities but yet the response to stimuli does slow down a bit.

I got up from bed feeling very cold and numb, but as soon as I looked outside through the window, I heaved a sigh of relief. It’s too early and I have many hours to sleep, I thought, the sun has still not shown its crimson warm rays. But suddenly my mom’s voice brought me back to senses. Sometimes deep sleep has an intoxicating effect. It was raining heavily outside and the sun in fact had no choice but to silently sit behind the enormous grey clouds, and watch the morning unfold to chill and darkness.

“The weather is not good, it’s raining outside and chilling cold,” said Ma, “I suggest drop the idea of going to college and sleep a little more.”

The idea seemed lucrative and with slight visible reluctance, I decided to allow the quilt to lovingly embrace me for a little longer.

 My sleep this time broke to the smell of fried Hilsa (a fish very famous in Bengal). The heavy downpour had stopped. I stretched for a few minutes, a little longer than usual to brush off my extra laze and jumped out of bed. As I gradually made my way to the balcony to witness the rainy winter morning, my feet froze to the touch of the cold marvel floor. With my pink furred sleepers on,I stood aghast holding the balcony bars. It was beautiful outside, my city looked different and fresh. The sky was partially clouded and the sun sometimes fought its way out to gaze at us. It was foggy and the road near my house was clean with the recent downpour. Many people had taken an unplanned leave and were sipping tea from clay cups at the street side tea stall, while some were smoking. The atmosphere was laid back and complete treat to the eyes and being.

In no time my mom had appeared with a steaming cup of coffee in her hand, how does she know before I speak, well….I guess that’s what mothers are like. As I sat down on the bed with my coffee mug, I inquired of lunch menu as I was too late for breakfast.

On me asking mom proudly declared “Khichdi and Hilsa Fry”.

As soon as it had stopped raining, Papa had rushed to get some fresh Hilsa from the nearby fish market and mom did what she has mastered, converted the raw materials to a super yum lunch spread!

In a rainy day Bongs can think no better than a mouth watering lunch out of Khichdi and Hilsa. I will always remember that day, due to the laze attached, the pampering from parents and the beauty of my city and loads of nostalgia attached.

Aritra Chakrabarty Sengupta

The sad story of buds which could not blossom

The day had started normal for parents of children going to the military run school in Peshawar, Pakistan. Little did they know what awaited their fate! How could they guess that this Tuesday (16^th December 2014) would turn to a black one, and create dreaded memories for a life time!

I do not know if my writing about the Peshawar Attack will create any difference, in fact I am sure it won’t. But I don’t care! I want to write and vent my feelings to the world which is largely turning into a jungle filled with wild animals. A bunch of fanatics running into the premises of a school and firing and bombing, is at least not possible in a civilised society!

Who are they? What have they become and why? What do they want? Neither do I know nor do I want to know! No religion, no school of thought, no religious guru can teach or preach an action as condemnable as this one. What are we heading towards? Are we actually gradually getting accustomed to living in a world full of uncertainties? None of us know when some fanatic would attack our city or part of city and snatch us of our lives. Are humans still worthy of calling themselves social animals? I guess the social part has been expunged long back. Lighting candles in the name of the dead is just not enough!

Pakistan, which has always been known for giving refuge to anti socials and terrorist groups and treating them as national assets might not be in my good books, that does not stop me as a human to feel for the massacre victims. The kids whose lives were ended before it could start; the parents who lost their heartbeats did not deserve this treatment from life. We cannot give life so how dare do we attempt to take it away?

I as a human want to stand by the hundreds of wailing mothers, the devastated fathers, the kids fighting with life and death in hospitals. My narrative is my humble request to all those deaf ears, please stop this violence, please behave as human for once and all, live and let live. 

Aritra Chakrabarty Sengupta

Can love happen twice?

No, it is not a question that I am asking you, it’s the title of the book by Ravinder Singh that I just happen to complete reading. Continuing with my sad romance book era, I had started this book, only to find that it actually had a happy ending. Not that I was disappointed because of its ending but the reason(s) of disappointment was different, which I will gradually disclose as I take you through my journey of exploring the book.

The love saga of Simar and Ravin, with the exotic backdrop of Belgium was fascinating. The beauty of the mesmerizing city and its changing colors with each season, is smartly and interestingly used by the author. Ravin who was recovering from the loss of his dead girlfriend Khushi, comes to Belgium for an official assignment. He wanted to get back to normalcy but had little hope or intent to find love again. But with Simar coming into his life, his inhibitions to love sublimes as he finds himself gradually falling for her beauty and innocence (the author had numerous times pointed to the innocence of his beautiful female protagonist). The depiction of their growing attraction followed by love, was nothing new. Similar to many other writers, Ravinder has uninhibitedly portrayed physical love making with every minute details, sometimes even more elaborate than the emotional part, which I disliked.

In major part of the novel, Simar is, time and again addressed as innocent with childlike candidness. However with turn of events the reader is left aghast to find her selfish and egoist and the unfolding of events is too abrupt. The reader has no time to digest, and his/her mind starts boggling with questions like “Was Simar pretending to be someone else?” But unfortunately the book does not provide any answer. Again the same girl, who likes being by herself, is extremely careerist, is broadly non-compromising and has been in Belgium for around two years, has never boozed. But at the same time, loses no time to indulge in a physical relationship with a man she hardly knows. In a nut shell, the portrayal of Simar’s character is quite hazy.  Her change of attitude remains unexplained and vague till the end.

Two people falling in love and again falling apart, because the girl does not want to have fetters in the form of in-laws around her, is not new. But that does not mean it cannot be written about, my problem was the unclear unfolding of events and the reasons behind it. The author does not take through a laminar flow, and the plot fails to build smoothly in the mind of the reader. The characters fail to come alive as they ideally should.

My last complain was the million mentions of Ravinder’ s first novel “I too had a love story” being a best seller throughout the novel.

Having said whatever I felt after reading the novel, I want to mention that one aspect is extremely positive about this one, it propagates true love and salutes them who preaches it. Love can happen many times, but the honesty attached to every relationship is important. It’s important for love to be selfless as conditions attached to subjects related to heart is a must and just NO NO.

 

 

 

Aritra Chakrabarty Sengupta

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My win over fear

An inspiring Dew film

I have never been an interesting person, adventure sports and out of box activities were never part of my life. Due to lack of such activities, I had developed loads of fears. Fear of height, fear of darkness, fear of being alone in the house and so on. At times I would sigh at my predictable boring life and dream that some day; some one will forcibly pull me out of my comfort zone and push me towards challenges. I too wanted to experience the joy of prison break from fears and live the overwhelm of adrenaline rush. But my fears were too strong and over powering.

My husband and I are poles apart, while I prefer to play safe, he enjoys living at the edge. Sometimes I would innocently ask him “What is need of taking risks, don’t you prefer peace?” The obvious reply “Life is too short to keep playing safe, there are too many things to enjoy and there is no time to loose thinking?” Though my heart would essentially skip a beat, coming to terms with his plans but then this was what I dreamed of.

From taking tequila shots and loosing myself at least one time in my life to suddenly accepting his decision of buying a house in Mumbai, he just takes me through and surprisingly I have always enjoyed those journeys.

It was our second anniversary and we planned to celebrate it in the awesomeness of Goa. Romantic Santana beach resort and the tranquil Candolim beach, we actually were having a blissful vacation! The music, the food and the occasion had infused more life into us; candid romance reigned supreme in the atmosphere.

I got up feeling fresh and happy that morning, only to be greeted with a mouth watering buffet breakfast and the euphoric tropical breeze. We had plans of rendezvous with some of the exotic beaches of North Goa that day, so I was quite excited. After witnessing nature’s grandeur we planned to catch up with some mouth smacking Goan delicacies. It was around 3:00 in the afternoon when we reached Baga beach. A beach in North Goa known for adventure sports!

“We are going for Paragliding!” said Avishek. This announcement marked the beginning of a rhythm of heart beat, much faster than normal. At first I was unsure what to reply, one mind said “what are you thinking? This was what you wanted” and another mind said “are you kidding, what will happen if the harness breaks and you fall in the middle of the sea?” After what seemed hours of deep introspection, I decided to take the risk and plunge.

The speed boat took us to a much calmer sea, far away from the maddening crowd of the beach. My heart was beating louder! They tied harnesses across our waists and I really do not know what they did next, but moments later we were high up in the air overlooking the sea, the fear, the inhibitions had sublimed to be replaced with sheer joy of overcoming it.

Paragliding at Baga Beach

That was the first time when I shed my fear, took risk and let myself go to attain that moment of adrenaline rush. It might not be too big a thing for most of my readers, but to me it was a moment of victory and I cherish it with love. So when I came across the topic of “Rise above Fear” in indivine by mountain dew, I immediately decided to share this moment. Its not that I took loads of risks after that, but the moment really had increased my confidence in myself. I had taken the risk of going against my normal safe playing self and claimed victory over my fear.

The ad crafted by mountain dew (shared at the beginning of my narrative) is also awesome and gives loads of inspiration to people like me. Kudos to the makers!  You can also check their facebook page using the following link:  https://www.facebook.com/mountaindewindia

Aritra Chakrabarty Sengupta

Not all stories are the same-premarital sex

“As I stood looking at the round moon, through my bedroom window and allowed the soothing spring breeze, to caress my hair. My thought wandered, a shy smile appeared at the corner of my lips. I brought my hand close to my nose and breathed a lung full of the aroma of mehendi. A few drops of water fell from my partially wet hair onto my satin night gown. I suddenly felt his profound embrace.”

From childhood buddies to teenage sweethearts, Arushi and Aniket were as if destined to be together. Their togetherness, never gave the space for a third person to intervene. But marriage was different, it was an all together different feeling of blissful togetherness. Arushi lately felt more complete and her skin had turned too sensitive to Aniket’s touch. From being friends to partners and then getting married, they had enjoyed it all. Every phase had a different fragrance of divine love attached to it. Sharing tiffin in classroom gradually changed to sharing thoughts and feelings, but the change was so gradual and overlapping, that they barely felt it happen. But Arushi had drawn a line and strictly followed it, she believed in enjoying each phase of life its own way. She wanted to feel the bliss of married life in full bloom. So she and Aniket never had sex before tying the knot, not that they didn't make love though. It was a challenge for Arushi to explain to Aniket her thinking, but eventually he respected it.

“As I stood looking at the round moon, through the iron bars of my bedroom window and allowed the soothing spring breeze, to caress my unkempt hair. My thought wandered, the questions appeared again. Who am I? What am I made of? Why am I treated like this?”

Renuka was a housewife to a rich business man and mother of two lovely daughters. Her long marriage life had been like a boat ride on a rough sea. She never knew how to please her husband and also the need of doing so. Anyways he derived pleasure out of her body hurting her soul, whenever he pleased. She had no say; the bourgeois society gave her husband all the rights. But isn't sex an extended expression of love and passion? She will never know, at least in this life. She too had dreamed of a blissful life of togetherness with her husband. But what bliss? Every day she gets shocked reading the newspaper headlines about the thousands of girls being molested, raped and brutally killed. She wonders about the millions of wives who are raped every night, not killed, only to live a life of humiliation. She sarcastically smiles to herself, the newspaper will run short of space to accommodate their painful stories. To the conformist society, she is pious, then why does she feel dirty all the time? Why does her sad, dark eyes with smudged kohl look so devoid of life? Why does the pain in every part of her body shriek out to narrate a story about anything but LOVE?

“As I stood looking at the round moon, through the iron bars of my bedroom window and allowed the soothing spring breeze, to caress my stubborn curls. I felt unsure of myself, am I right or am I wrong? I did not know. Sometimes love breaks all norms and run to embrace strongly, too strongly to resist. But where to draw the line between love and lust. Or is there any? I questioningly looked at the magical light of the moon.”

It was a beautiful night, the moon was shining in full glory and the breeze was alluring. Riddhima and Rishi both tried hard to concentrate on their lessons, but could not. Again and again they illuminated their mobile screens to check the time. Riddhima’s room mate was out of town, and Rishi was supposed to spend the night at her place. They had decided to cover few chapters together. Both of them were excited and wanted to discover how it felt to let the night pass, lying beside each other. But the tuition class was never ending that day. As they reached Riddhima’s room, Rishi was surprised at the cleanliness. A little bit of studying over a cup of coffee, watching their favourite series on Riddhima’s laptop. Time passed beautifully.

Rishi was looking straight into Riddhima’s eyes; a stare that had the heat of melting the glacier, she thought she was loosing herself to him and tried hard to refrain. But as the candidness of the moment, the spring breeze, the magical night caught over her senses of righteousness and tradition, she let it go and made love. Riddhima loved living that moment, at the same time she had certain guilt attached to it. But she believed that her love and trust would never be misused by Rishi.

“As I stood looking at the round moon, through the iron bars of my bedroom window and allowed the soothing spring breeze, to play with my ungroomed hair. Tears of anguish and betrayal oozed out of my kohl smudged eyes and rolled down my cheeks. I wanted to kill myself for being the emotional fool I was. Being a bimbo is no good. I hated myself for playing the soft target to a self-seeking bastard’s evil intent.”

Rashi was a young energetic girl in her early twenties. Studies and sports had kept her too busy, to think that she was far too attractive. She never thought that her tom boyishness could act as a reason for attracting somebody’s fancy. But she never bothered to being someone else. She was content in her own making.

Rashi had met Rajat at a common friend’s birthday, and sparks had immediately flown. She was amused to see Rajat’s effort to talk to her in the party.  In spite of many of her friends warning her about his Casanova image, she had fallen in love with him head over heels. For six months the lovey dovey episode went well, they even made love to each other many a times, only because Rajat wanted so. Rashi had almost given herself up in his mercy, such was the impact of his glittering camouflage and she would have lived in her myth forever, if that god damn night had not cast its menacing shadow over her life.

She felt dizzy after the first drink, but continued to party hard. Shots after shots and pegs after pegs, she was doing what she had never done before. The last thing she remembered was Rajat carrying her in his arms, to some unknown place. When she came back to senses, she was shattered to see her half nude body and intimate moments being subject to everybody’s stare, she was viral on the networking sites.

The society is made up of different people and their different stories. But all stories are not meant to be same. Every story has a different fragrance to be appreciated. Hence when I came across the topic of "Yes or No to Premarital Sex" on Indivine,I thought I didn't have an answer if the topic was to be perceived as a question. But I wanted to put across my thoughts even though I lacked a proper answer. The above narrated stories are purely fictitious but I firmly believe resemblance to these is observed in the society. Actually what I believe, it's always a YES to love and always a NO to lust and betrayal. It's as much correct to make physical love before marriage as it is after, if it originates from love. But of talking about before marriage sex, in this era of online dating, its important to weigh the feelings before indulging into it, otherwise the consequences will not be always great. Having said that, even sex after marriage can be a heinous crime if it is imposed on the partner. 

Lastly I believe getting physical led by true love is magic and cannot and should not be condemned. Talking of love, one name can never be missed and that is Poonaam Uppal. And now she has come up with her love journey in a form of a book “A Mystical True Love Story”, please see the following link if you intend to indulge as the love goddess takes you through a divine journey: Poonaam Uppal's True Love-A Mystical True Love Story on Flipkart.

Aritra Chakrabarty Sengupta

My sad romantic book era!

I am an ardent reader, but only of fiction. Unfortunately my million tries to concentrate on non-fiction books have all gone in vain. As a kid I loved reading detective books, my famous character being young and vivacious Nancy Drew. As I grew up, I read different kinds of fictions namely romance, detective and so on. When I read a book, it engages me to an extent that I start living with the characters around me. I literally feel their presence, and once I am done with the reading. I suffer from the feeling of void, at least for the next two to three days.

From last one month, I suppose my sad romantic book era is on. Starting with reading John Green’s celebrated novel “The fault in our stars”, followed by Cecelia Ahern’s best seller “P.S. I love you” and now Ravinder Singh’s second endeavor “Can love happen twice?” which is yet to be finished. The first one is a birthday gift from some dear friends, while the rest were bought by hubby dear to keep up the sad yet celebrated romance of the first.

My narrative is not a book review, it’s just the feelings I went through while reading. The books I mentioned, have already proved their uniqueness across the world. Though what I just wrote, may not be valid for the mentioned novel by Ravinder Singh. 

To start with Gus and Hazel‘s love saga “The fault in our stars”. I thought the novel had a predictable ending, but that does not take away its charm. I guess sometimes predictable is what we want. The beauty of the novel lies in the way, the author has guided the plot to flow laminar. The essence is the roaring positivity in the story of two terminal teenagers, which is unique. The realization of time running out of their hands, never stopped them from living the moment. And this is the inspiration that all of us can draw from the novel. Off course besides the, intricately portrayed emotional tale of love. The emotional ups and downs, the urge to live, the urge to love and urge to learn, blends to form a sooth dough which bakes into a nice cake in the mind of the reader. I had cried to read Gus die, and the emotion has remained with me.

 

Lingering with my emotional phase I started with Cecelia Ahern’s famous “P.S. I love you”. When I started reading the novel, I thought it was not too interesting, as I found it too detailed. But after living with the book for a few days, I felt the presence of Holly and her void life around me. The detailed description of the emotional journey of a woman after the loss of her husband cum best friend, from shattered to calm grows on the reader. Holly had never loved anybody except Gerry, her life revolved round him. After his sad demise at a very young age holly is left to face the challenge of living, and guess what, she had to face it alone! This very realization breaks her to pieces, until she finds out that, her dead husband, had left her with some letters, besides the million memories etched in her mind. The letters play torch bearers and helps her spring back to life once again.

With Holly’s success story of reliving, I started Ravinder Singh’s “Can love happen twice?” I definitely aspire to describe Ravinder’ love story, once I have finished reading it.

Both of the mentioned books have been transformed on celluloid. But I personally couldn’t relate and establish the same emotional connection with the characters as I did while reading. After-all a movie is a time bound interpretation of someone else’s understanding of the book, and can never be compared or rather should never be compared to the book.

The stories I read, were love stories with a tragic ending. Yet the brighter side is, they teach you to love. Love unconditionally with all heart. It reminds of the worth of your partner whom we sometimes tend to take for granted. It makes you fall in love all over again.

Aritra Chakrabarty Sengupta

Romantic Dome

“Every day is special with you at my side,

I don’t fear getting lost, when you are my guide.

We have our moments of love and that of fight,

But it’s only you who make my future look as bright!!!”

It’s going to be four years of magical togetherness this 11^th of December. Time really flies. We have almost known each other for eight long years. Long? Not really, never felt so. Each day had a new excitement of knowing a newer and better side of each other. In an era of crumbling relationships and lack of faith in the institution of marriage. I beg to differ, marriage is a blissful journey, if only you can befriend your partner. Husband wives sometime drift apart because of the huge egos surrounding each one of them. But ego never crops his evil head in friendship.

Avishek and I on our wedding day

This year 11^th of December is a Thursday, and a week day is a big NO NO for celebration in Mumbai. So we planned to kick start our anniversary celebrations right from 7^th (Sunday). We decided to spend a romantic evening overlooking the bay and the queen’s necklace! Trying to figure out the best hangout destination, meeting our requirements, we came across Dome.

Dome

Overlooking the capricious waves of the Arabian Sea hitting the boulders and Queen’s necklace of Marine drive, Dome, is ideal breeding ground for romantic seeds.  It’s chic white couches and smartly placed candle lit lamps, creates an intriguing and exciting illusion of the dark and light. The blue illumination here and there, especially near the pool side, casts a deceiving magical spell on the onlooker. While the DJ continues bang on with the Swedish mafia, the cool breeze lovingly caresses and plays with strands of hair. The bounteous sky dotted with twinkling stars and Moon looking down! It was a mystical and romantic evening for us. Though not the full moon, but the night was blessed with an almost one. Which added feather to the cap.

Poolside in Dome

Located at the roof top of Hotel intercontinental in Churchgate Mumbai, Dome is one of the famous sky lounges in the City. A lavish lounge known for its million dollar view, it is a treat to see the majestic sun gradually embrace the darkness and sink in the Arabian waters, painting the sky red. The food and beverages are good, if not great. The staff is friendly and adds spark to the place. Every good thing comes with a price, and hence the price of eatables and drinkable s at this cocktail lounge are definitely the higher side, but worth for the stupendous view.

Avishek and I in DOME

We had our share of romance and enjoyed every moment of the evening in the lounge. Though not the best place to fill your stomach, but definitely of the best to quench your thirst to view the beauty of the city in a most chic way. I recommend Dome to people looking forward to spending a chilled out and romantic evening by the bay!

Aritra Chakrabarty Sengupta

Restaurant pics are courtesy Google, the light was too dim for us to capture the awesomeness of the place

Exotics to Conquer

Exotics yet to be conquered

“The tranquil blueness of the sea beacons me,

The green country side asks me for company,

The colourful city life wants me to party hard,

The placid mountains look down at me with love.”

It’s strange but true, that I have never travelled outside India. But I have always felt a connection with many exotic locations in the world. I have felt that they beacon me to conquer their beauty and uniqueness and preserve it forever within me. I always call myself an aspiring traveller. Studies, job etc have kept me too busy and drifted from my travelling passion. But I guess and hope with all my heart and soul, for my globe trotting to begin soon.

When I saw this contest on Indivine by Airbnb, I was extremely trilled to know about the availability of unique homes in exotic locales across the globe. I never knew about this concept before and thought it to be great. Afterall nothing can be compared to the feeling of “feeling at home” even when home is actually away “a hundred miles”. While it’s actually impossible for me to point out only five places of interest across the globe, but still the ones too close to my heart are:

1. Bali: Blue is my colour and hence tranquil serenity of tropical destinations have always attracted me. The golden sand ultimately embraces the blueness of the massive and powerful sea. The transparent waters, the colourful rocks beneath, the smooth coolness of the breeze, the brittle softness of the sand and the never ending blue sky above! A beautiful sea beach is an epitome of natural beauty to me. It kind of sets your spirits free. You feel colourful, you look colourful. The euphoria breathes life in you and relieves you of all stress. Actually I am simply a beach lover, but Bali is one of the most wonderful exotica I want to conquer.

2. Spain: Spain had always been in my wish list. From exotic beaches to places of historical importance like Madrid and Barcelona. Spain has it all, to quench the thirst of a wandering traveller. It has a feeling, difficult to describe in words.  The movie “Zindagi na milegi dobara” actually infused this craze to go through the feeling in me all the more. The stony roads, the smell of history, the culture, the songs and dances and the bull all make it too attractive to be ignored. It also has exotic beaches to offer. Lastly a Spanish holiday is something; I cannot offer to miss in this life.

3. Amsterdam: While Amsterdam is more known for its exotic night life, but my interest is more in the numerous museums the place is stacked with. Being the capital of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, its historical interest actually overrides the red light district attraction. I had loved to read Hazel and Gus romance in the streets of Amsterdam in John Green’s “The fault in our stars.” Its natural beauty and metropolitan features makes it apt for all type of travelers.

4. Paris: Oh! Paris….Its been my dream destination for so long. Just waiting to witness its excellence. The city of style and fashion. The capital of France is a great tourist puller from across the globe. Whether it’s the night view of the Eiffel Tower or the uniqueness of the Louvre Museum. Paris has it all to offer to the world audience. Like most desired destinations across the globe, Paris too has an inherent feeling attached to it. The chic quotient reigns supreme when we talk of it.

5. New Zealand: Though head over heels in love with the euphoria attached with beaches, the placid beauty of snow-capped mountains of New Zealand attract my fancies too strongly. The beautiful greenery of the valley and Grey Mountains around infuses so much life that it is possible to dream with open eyes. The life is more like living a dream there. Hence I dream to live there for a few days in my life.

 The world is much more beautiful than we can even imagine, it has got a destination for every traveller. Besides the five places I have mentioned there are many more that I want to behold. The real wish list is never ever going to end.

Airbnb offers an exciting range of homes away from home across the world. You can even list your property if interested. Here’s my wish list of the locales and homes I wish to visit:Exotics yet to be conquered

And here is my referral link:Aritra's Referral  log in to get added benefits if you are planning to travel or list your property.

Aritra Chakrabarty Sengupta

It is time to take the signals seriously-Traffic rules

“The signal goes red. Old Aunt Dorothy was waiting patiently for a long time for the signal to change color in her favor. She neither had the strength nor courage to cross the road with the racing vehicles around her. Now she slowly started walking on the zebra crossing, with her stick for support. The medical store was just on the other side of the road. But she could not make it to the store. A man too engrossed in his cell phone, broke signal and claimed her remaining life. Aunt Dorothy will never need medicines again.”

Many a times we crib over the ailing traffic condition of India, the diseased safety system claiming numerous lives. But the hard core reality is, cribbing has not and will never help solve any problem. Before holding Government and its policies responsible, it’s high time to introspect. Did I ever and drink and drive? Did I always signal properly, changing lanes while driving? Did I ever call or text somebody while driving? Did I ever offer to bribe the traffic policeman, on getting caught for over speeding or signal breaking? Did I ever miss to put on the seat belt? The answers to these questions will be best answered by us. However the list is long, thought-provoking and never ending.

In order to eradicate a deadly disease, you will agree, that it’s important to first know the root cause. Talking of the unsafe road scenarios, one of the causes evidently is rash driving. Now if I carry out a “why why” analysis and try to get to the root of the problem.

Q. Why an unsafe condition is created?

A. Rash Driving is a probable reason.

Q. Why would someone drive rashly?

A. Either he/she can do it intentionally or in an emergency situation. In the first case its nothing but mental instability but in the later case it might be due to long waiting hours resulting from traffic jams.

Q. Why will there be a traffic jam?

A. Too many vehicles on the road and lead to it.

Amongst many other valid reasons, for unsafe situations, the above “why why” analysis clearly indicates, that too many vehicles on the road, is a very important one. An ideal solution to offload our roads, can be Carpooling. I firmly believe that the era has come when carpooling should no more just remain an option, IT SHOULD BE ENFORCED. It not only allows the roads to heave a sigh of relief, but also reduces carbon footprint. I assume my readers are fairly enlightened about the menace called “Global Warming”. And it’s high time to think above personal comforts.

Knowing and abiding to traffic rules is not enough. The Government or any other body can do just nothing, if we do not want to take our future seriously. A word of sympathy for an accident victim is not proof enough of our compassion. The victim can be anybody, you, me or someone else. The loss to the person or the family is irreparable.

It’s time to take the signals seriously, the signals of increasing toll of road accidents, the signals of heavy traffic jams and also the traffic signals alike. The population is increasing, so measures to control traffic explosion on the roads is of paramount importance. Take your life and the life of others on the roads seriously. While I think that counting all the road safety norms in my narrative will be wastage of space and time, as we all know them. But I still want to remind my readers, that not only calling but even texting can be dangerous during driving. Common! If you don’t want to over work, why will your brain want to? Let it be at peace and do one job with accuracy, a WhatsApp message can always wait! Don’t be a hazard to yourself and the society! Be and act responsible!

When I came across this topic on Indivine by “Nissan safety Driving Forum”, I was enthralled to be getting the chance to write about Road Safety. I salute Nissan for starting this awareness program, The Nissan Safety Driving Forum (NSDF), at this hour of grave need. When I went through their website, I was amazed to see the commendable efforts they are putting to improve our Nation’s road safety condition. They began in 2012 only with three cities and now they have spread their impact across several cities of India. With its core objective of safe driving behavior in India, it has touched the life of 2 lakh Indian citizens, with 126% growth in the sensitization of wearing seatbelts.  Under its Blue Citizen CSR umbrella it commits to contribute to developing a sustainable society. For more details you can log on to their website:https://www.nissan.in/innovation/NSDF.html

Adhering to traffic rules is a part of civilization. Which does not necessarily end with knowledge and practice by individuals. If societal change is what we aim at, the fruit is not so hanging. Yet the chances of achieving safe driving situation in our Nation will be more substantial if we work as a team. Do not hesitate to point to your cab chauffer, if he uses his mobile while driving. Talk and convenience your friends and family, never to drink and drive, even if they think they are in their senses. Point out to your neighbor, that his kid needs a safety belt too, to protect his little self, even if he is at the back seat. Encourage and practice carpooling, when ever possible. It’s our country and hence it’s our responsibility to help it sustain and grow. And lastly remember, we do not have the power of giving life, so we should not have the right to take it away, be human and behave human. It is high time to take the signals seriously!

Aritra Chakrabarty Sengupta