Manali Manan Desai's Blog, page 73

Sweet Romance & Cyber Crime Thrill ~ Book Review on Two Books By A Talented Young Author

Logan Pearsall Smith, says,

“People say that life is the thing, but I prefer reading.”

In focus for this week’s #ScrutinySunday are two books under our #BookReview section. The first is a cyber crime thriller ‘What Did Tashi Do’ and the other is a romance story mixed with a little of mystery, ‘What Happened to Our Forever’

Fun fact: they’re both written by the same author. So, are these books worth reading?

We share our detailed review on both these books below. Read and find out whether the bibliophile in you would like these or not:

What Did Tashi Do?

This was my first read after ‘The Girl on The Train’ in the crime and thriller genre,and let me tell you, the latter though comes from a relatively new author, by no way pales in comparison. What Tashi goes through, could easily happen to any girl who uses social media without caution; her anguish is written in such a raw manner, that I wanted to get into the book, give her a hug and say, “It’s going to be okay”.

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Anangsha is definitely an author whose future works I’ll look forward to reading. The only bit I found a little boring (maybe it’s just a ‘me’ thing) was the last few pages when the story takes on a preachy note, but even then the author is only trying to tell us to be cautious when using social media or providing solutions about what to do if we ever find ourselves in such a situation.

Overall, a great read and I recommend to all and sundry, irrespective of whether you’re a reader or not.

What Happened to Our Forever?

Although, admittedly not as gripping as her ‘What Did Tashi Do’ novella, Anangsha manages to keep that ‘What will happen next??’ curiosity maintained. And for a story based around romance, that is quite commendable.

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The love story in this novella will remind you of your own first love or even crush and though that’s clichéd, what’s different about this book is the ending, which takes you by surprise!

For a seasoned reader (like myself) though, it becomes predictable what might be the mystery or drawback in the love after the first two chapters. However, what does come out as the big reveal does leave the reader shocked and questioning one’s own choices.

Another drawback which I felt was that the characters (unlike the author’s previous book) felt less personal or in-depth. I definitely would have loved to know more about both lead characters.

However, these little glitches can easily be ignored as all in all the book makes for a light and delightful read.

For romance lovers, I’d highly recommend this one!

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Liked our review?

Buy the books here:

What Did Tashi Do?
What Happened to Our Forever?

P.S: The debut book of this author is a poem compilation titled ‘Stolen Reflections’ which has been in my TBR for long (and despite the fact that I have the paperback in my possession already!!)  and I’ll surely get around to reading it soon! Irrespective of when I read it though, I’m sure I’ll be enthralled.

Here is the buying link to her debut book

Stolen Reflections

Food For Thought or Thoughts of Food?~ A Pharma Professional Turned Food Blogger Shares Her Story

George Bernard Shaw, says,

“There is no love sincerer than the love of food.” 

In our #FridayFeature blog focusing on the #WonderWomen segment, today, we present the story of a woman whose love for science and her passion for food, got her into not one, but two varied professions. Meet, Pharma professional and a Culinary Blogger, Purnima Kanojia. How did she get into these two fields and what made her turn into a food blogger? Let’s find out in her own words.

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“My educational background and keen interest in medical science helped me bag some amazing jobs with big pharmaceutical companies. My passion for cooking and love for food got me into blogging. Food is not only fun; it is therapeutic to me. I love cooking for my family and friends. Having made a tasty dish gives me a lot of high and immense satisfaction. 

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There were struggles in both my career choices. In the pharma world, I started my career as a Sales Representative and at the time, I was one of the very few female Reps in the entire company. In fact, at some point in time, I was the only female representative in my team. Making my presence felt in a male dominated career was a challenge by itself. However sometimes it did give me an edge as well. I moved up in my career from Sales team to Head office team – Executive to assistant Manager to Senior Executive. As assistant manager, I was handling regulatory assignments for six South Asian countries. 

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Besides this struggle of making a name for myself in a male dominated industry, there was another personal life impediment too. I have had 2 career breaks, both due to pregnancy. My first career break was when I was expecting my first baby.  Sales and pregnancy couldn’t go hand in hand. As I had a good track record, my HR manager promised me to consider me for an opening when I was fit to resume. Staying home was a challenge because I was used to a busy schedule. Pregnancy came with its own health challenges; from a planned cesarean to having a big little sumo baby weighing nearly 4 kg.

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In my professional job, I have experienced various challenges right from dealing with difficult colleagues to reporting to a bad boss, and from being a target of planning and plotting against me to ruin my name and career, to facing body shaming and ageism which included judgements like ‘too young for this’ and ‘too old for that.’ Through it all, I have only emerged stronger than before. Every time life threw challenges at me, I smiled back and said challenge accepted; which made me learn and accept that love and patience are the key to every win, whether big or small.

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I have had many turning points in life. The first was when my elder son was 4 years old. I had taken a career break since he was my first baby and was unsure if I could go back to work. A part of me was yearning to go back to Sales job. One day as I was watching (late) Steve Irwin’s show Crocodile Hunters, where he was with his baby boy near the crocodile. In this documentary he made a statement saying that human babies must be put in the environment they are meant to live in, at an early age. He said, ‘It’s now or never’. These words struck a chord with me and I immediately called-up my ex-office to inquire if they had a vacancy for me and voila within 48 hrs, I had my dream job. Next turning point was when I was going through a bad boss phase.

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My confidence was buried ten feet under the ground. Having spent sleepless nights over thinking what was happening to me and where I was heading, I met my guardian angel who helped me come out of this phase victoriously. My confidence level rose to an all time high when the same boss promoted me to the post of an assistant manager. Trust me this was the most difficult phase of my life as I had nearly landed in depression. The next major turning point was my last Job, which pushed me towards blogging. I was on the edge to start my blog page for almost a year, however like all start-ups, I didn’t know how to do it or when and where to begin. After having sorted between what I love to do and what I was forced to do due to circumstances, I chose my love, that is food.

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I resigned from my day job and got into full time blogging. It was like a leap of faith, all I knew was that I will immensely love what I will be doing with my food, be it cooking or reviewing events and restaurants. In my food blogging journey, I met amazing people in the Culinary world, made friends for life with most of them, met my culinary guide Mrs. Reena Mukherjee  and discovered my spark. Ever since blogging happened, life has been bringing in pleasant twists; I am not only loving my ups but also my downs. My motivation is my love for food and excitement of discovering new culinary experiences, be it cooking, masterclasses, foodies, chefs, Fests and what not. There is so much to learn and explore and I want to experience it all, which keeps me going.  The journey so far has been gradual but satisfying. I started my blog page on Instagram on 8 Oct. Since then there has been no looking back. I attended masterclasses by celebrity chefs like Chef Saransh Goila, Chef Nishant Choubey, Chef Osama Jalali, seen Prahlad Kakkar cook live.  Events like HTpalate Fest- Delhi, Food for thought – Delhi and Uppercrust food and wine fest – Mumbai, added a new dimension to my foodie journey. I even got to experience the launch of new limited-edition menu by Café Delhi Heights in Mumbai which was my first invite as a food blogger.

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I would like to extend a huge thanks to Mr Tikkuji for this. From Instagram, I went on to start my Facebook page, ultimately getting more visibility. The future plan is to reach an appreciable blog page status. For me blogging is not only about food but also about the people behind it – right from professional chefs to home cooks. Which is why my Instagram and Facebook posts focus on varied food related stuff right from home cooking to culinary events and restaurant reviews. Basically, anything and everything about food and people around food; because I believe that food without the involvement of people, is incomplete. Though my culinary journey has just begun, I know that it’s going to be exciting and I look forward to all the experiences and learnings. 

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My biggest learning has been that

 

Collaboration is key to success.

  And that,

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Only by getting out of one’s comfort zone will one be able to explore and see growth.
 

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To drop in a message to Purnima and to check out her amazing food experiences, visit and follow her social media pages through the links below:

Instagram
Facebook

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Lookback at the Best Blogs and Social Media Posts of 2019

Here’s a look at A Rustic Mind’s Top 9 posts from 2019.

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2019 has been an extremely thrilling ride. As a writer, this has been one of most fulfilling year. Firstly, we began with the weekly #SocialCalendar with theme based posts.

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This theme and the regular #MicrotaleMonday posts led to the publication of The Untold Stories (which is a collection of 131 microtales)

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Find buying details of the book here.

My love for traveling and writing came out in the form of the #TravelerTuesday posts. Under these, I wrote about places from across the world which I set foot on. Here’s a look back at the top 2 out of these travel blogs.

The topmost is our travel tale on Cube houses @ Rotterdam. Here’s a glimpse at our social media post around it.

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You can go through our detailed review blog on the same here.

Our second best travel tale was our anniversary getaway @ Anchaviyo Resort in Palghar, India. Here’s a glimpse at our social media post around this place.

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You can go through our detailed review blog on the same here.

Other than blogging, I also focused on my poetry through the #VerseWednesday posts. Here is a look at two of the best/top poems from this segment.

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You can find this post on Instagram. 

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You can find this post on Instagram. 

We changed the Instagram look and theme twice in 2019, which have led to so much appreciation (and ultimately also resulted in overall increase in traffic, engagement, followers and likes)

All because we used the 9Square app for uploading the book cover of A Rustic Mind and then didn’t want to hamper it.

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So, for a while we had this theme:

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Then after a while we changed it to this theme (which is our current theme too)

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In other writing achievements, which went on to make another one of the top posts of 2019, we had the book teaser post (of my four published books)

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You can find buying links of all these books here.

Some of you might be unaware that besides being a writer, I’m an editor too. This skill of mine too found wings in 2019. I edited a fellow author’s book. The post announcing his book cover release became one of our top 9 posts of 2019.

Here’s a look at the post:

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You can buy the book here.

Midway through the year our Instagram page crossed 5k followers and a few months after that, we crossed 10k followers on Instagram. The posts announcing our gratitude on this made 2 out of the top posts of 2019.

Here’s a glimpse at our 5k followers post.

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You can find it directly on Instagram.

And, here’s a glimpse at our 10k followers post.

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You can find it directly on Instagram

Thanks to this overwhelming love and support from our Insta fam, I became an influencer. Which meant new blogging collaboration opportunities. Under this we started the #Review section on our blog and social media posts.

Our next (and last) top most is one such review collaboration post. Me being a travel enthusiast had been looking for a good passport cover and found my answer through Red Moments.

Here’s a look at the Instagram post.

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You can have a look at the detailed review on this product on our review blog. 

All in all, 2019 has been a roller coaster ride of writing journey and I hope to continue providing good content in 2020 as well. A huge thank you to all followers and readers of my posts and blogs. And here’s me wishing you all a very Happy New Year!

Keep supporting and following!!

 

Beautiful Landscape & Natural Views Galore at This Popular Point

In focus for today’s #TravelerTuesday is the Parsi Point in Panchgani, India.

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This popular attraction (which is almost always crowded), is situated on the way to Mahabaleshwar. Named after the Parsi community and its significance to the towns of Panchgani and Mahabaleshwar, the Parsi Point overlooks Krishna Valley and Dhom Dam.

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It is surrounded by lush and (mostly always) green mountains. Thanks to its location and the natural greenery all around, the point provides some spectacular views.

There is a children’s park which is quite well-maintained and the kids are sure to be have a great time. There are several local vendors selling local strawberries, fruits and other small snacks/eatables, ice creams and almost everything.  There is also a public toilet which you can use (side note: the toilet is not gleaming clean but is acceptable for urgent use)

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So, if you’re looking for a place to stop for a while, just breathe, and also take great photographs, this is your spot; have strawberries, or any other snacks, and let the kids play around, as you enjoy the beautiful natural view.

A highly recommended and a must-visit spot if you’re in and around either Panchgani and Mahabaleshwar. Spend a minimum of 20 minutes and a maximum of 45 minutes for a pit-stop because there’s nothing more to do at this local attraction.

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Pro-tip: There will be a huge crowd at the entry point. However, there is ample space for parking (as well as enjoying the view) so don’t get disheartened. One can also avail the service of a telescope vendor to enjoy different angled views of the valley below.

There’s Always Time To Follow Your Passion ~ An Engineer Turned Author Shares Her Story

Wanda Sykes, says,

“If you feel like there’s something out there that you’re supposed to be doing, if you have a passion for it, then stop wishing and just do it.”

In our today’s #MondayMotivation blog focusing on the #WonderWomen segment, we’re proud to feature a woman who followed her passion rather than just wishing to bring about a change. Meet, engineer by profession and qualification, and writer by passion, Bhumika Monani. How did she get into a creative field like writing from a technical profession like engineering, and how does she manage both these varied fields of work? Let’s find out in her own words.

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“Though I wrote my first poetry at a very young age, (when I was in 11th standard to be precise), it never occurred to me that I can be a writer one day. Writing, back then, and even till just a year back, was just a hobby of sorts. My life had a direction, but there was no proper purpose. I never knew what to do with my life or have a passion or purpose which went beyond the societal expectations of a stable job and career.

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Because of this, I just went along with the flow, first by being an ideal student of the science stream, then by pursuing engineering and later even settled for a well-paying job. There was no struggle as such with the engineering bit (besides the normal ones which all students face). But with my writing, the struggle then and now, mostly includes learning how to express yourself (or rather myself) and to write exactly the way story is going around in your (my) mind.

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Of course, even if one finesses those skills, there’s the struggle of finding a way to get into publishing industry, making a mark through the first book, dealing with disappointments and so much more, which I was completely unprepared for.

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But once I got into, I was unstoppable. Being a writer gave my life a new direction and now here I am, proudly and successfully, gripping it with both the hands.

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My college life was my turning point in life. I discovered my passion during those challenging years. Next turning point was my job/professional life where I came out of my comfort zone, managed everything in my life on my own, stumbled frequently, yet learned to get up again each time, and keep going. Again, I did many things wrong only to acknowledge what is right, which made me realize that risk is a necessary devil.

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My motivation? The million dreams and ideas in my mind, all of which I want to set sail to; of course, the zeal to fulfill them keeps me going.

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Publishing two books has been my biggest milestone and achievement so far. However, I am yet to achieve that level where I am established and a known name and face in the writing industry.

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Nonetheless beginnings are always hard, so I’m satisfied that I’ve started off well. In future, I would like to see myself as a successful author who has stirred the souls of people by her stories. 

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My biggest learning has been that,

Things don’t work out the way you want but without being disheartened you must adjust with the outcomes and find the good in it.

remember that

“Your story is different from every human being.”

in order to achieve your goals,

“Consistency is the key to success.”

for enjoying life as it comes,

“Live in the moment.”

& remember to

“Capture life in your camera and make memories.”

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To drop in a message to Bhumika, or to check out her writings, and to buy her published works, follow the links below:

Instagram
Facebook
Amazon (Society Pages)
Amazon (We Never Know)

Cricket & Politics in The Zoya Factor & Battle for Bittora

Malorie Blackman, says,

“Reading is an exercise in empathy; an exercise in walking in someone else’s shoes for a while. 

In our #BookReview blog through our #ScrutinySunday post, we present a book review on not one, but two books; The Zoya Factor & Battle for Bittora (fun fact: they’re both written by the same author, Anuja Chauhan). So, are these two books worth reading? We give our detailed review and thoughts on both these books below:

1. The Zoya Factor

This was like a dream combo for someone like me, because it combined two of my favourite hobbies into one good story, aka, cricket and reading. Anuja Chauhan’s dry humour comes with a desi tadka, which is almost always chuckle worthy throughout the book. Zoya’s character comes with so many flaws that we’re immediately drawn to her rather than despising her. The nitbits about cricket are quite well researched and written.

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Anuja Chauhan uses Indian English but also tries to avoid flowery expressions. Also, after reading shelves and shelves of books and articles on romance, page 3 sagas and so on, I was happy and relieved to finally have a book that made me laugh and also gave me butterflies.

For every girl (or even a guy who also happens to love reading) who is a cricket enthusiast, this is THE BOOK! The story line isn’t outstanding but the way in which the scenes are portrayed is amazing. The characters are drawn well and the readers can easily relate to them.

My only problem was with Khoda’s character, who seemed a bit too snooty and confused. Nonetheless, I did develop a crush on him,because duh! He’s the captain and he reminded me so much of VK, my real life crush

Filmy Fervour ~ Reviews on Movies + Shows Seen in The Past Few Months

The answer to “What do you do in your free time?” will always be “Watching a movie” or now even “Web series and shows” as long as there’s good content around. As much as we’d like people to engage in other free time activities, its hard to topple movies and shows from the number slot of mass entertainment and appeal.

Us being no exceptions to this case, fall back on Netflix and multiplexes almost everyday. As the year comes to a close, here are some movies and shows we watched and what we thought about them! This year has been a good one in the terms of entertainment content (thankfully!!). In one of our previous posts , we already recommended a few good movies and TV shows. Continuing on that, here are few we’d suggest watching (or not watching)

Bollywood Movies
1. Super 30

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2. Bala
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3. Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota

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4. Section 375

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5. The Sky is Pink

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6. Mardaani 2

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Hollywood Movies
1. Always Be My Maybe

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2. Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation

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3. The Croods

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4. About Time

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5. To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before

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Indian Web Series/Shows
1. Aam Aadmi Family

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2. Four More Shots Please

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3. Criminal Justice

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4. Laakhon Mein Ek-Season 1 and Season 2
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5. One Mic Stand

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Global Web Series/Shows
1. Living With Yourself

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2. The End of the F***ing World

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3. Jack Ryan

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4. Bodyguard

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Filmy Friday ~ Reviews on Movies + Shows Seen in The Past Few Months

The answer to “What do you do in your free time?” will always be “Watching a movie” or now even “Web series and shows” as long as there’s good content around. As much as we’d like people to engage in other free time activities, its hard to topple movies and shows from the number slot of mass entertainment and appeal.

Us being no exceptions to this case, fall back on Netflix and multiplexes almost everyday. As the year comes to a close, here are some movies and shows we watched and what we thought about them! This year has been a good one in the terms of entertainment content (thankfully!!). In one of our previous posts , we already recommended a few good movies and TV shows. Continuing on that, here are few we’d suggest watching (or not watching)

Bollywood Movies
1. Super 30

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2. Bala
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3. Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota

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4. Section 375

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5. The Sky is Pink

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6. Mardaani 2

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Hollywood Movies
1. Always Be My Maybe

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2. Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation

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3. The Croods

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4. About Time

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5. To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before

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Indian Web Series/Shows
1. Aam Aadmi Family

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2. Four More Shots Please

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3. Criminal Justice

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4. Laakhon Mein Ek-Season 1 and Season 2
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5. One Mic Stand

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Global Web Series/Shows
1. Living With Yourself

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2. The End of the F***ing World

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3. Jack Ryan

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4. Bodyguard

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Sunshine and Bird’s Eye View

In focus for today’s #Traveler Tuesday is the Sunrise Point at Saputara.

[image error]Sunrise point, saputara

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Saputara is a small (and only) hill station in the state of Gujarat in India. The ideal time to visit this quaint hill station is during the monsoons when the lake is filled with water, there’s greenery all around, the climate is foggy and the nearby Gira falls are a sight to behold.

[image error]Saputara during monsoon (2018)
[image error]Saputara during monsoon (2018)
[image error]Gira falls during monsoon (2018)

However, this time we chose to visit it during winters and though it was comparatively dry, the climate was pleasant. In my growing up years, Saputara was a fixed destination during all our family trips, especially during monsoon. So we’ve been here ample times and know all the place on the back of our hands.

[image error]Gira falls during winter (recent visit in December, 2019)

However, we were (pleasantly) surprised to chance upon a new attraction this time a.k.a the sunrise point. Claimed to be best enjoyed for sunrise (as the name suggests) we chose to give to (ironically) give it a visit during sunset. The panoramic view of the town and the setting sun were a soothing sight for our tired body and eyes, and a perfect climax for a day spent in sight seeing and some shopping.

[image error]Panoramic view from Sunrise point @ Saputara

The point has recently been (re)developed, with different viewing points, a small garden, a public toilet, ample parking space and a handful food stalls. Because it seemed to have been recently opened to public, the number of tourists too were just a few and we got to enjoy the view and the climate peacefully.

[image error]Panoramic view from Sunrise point @ Saputara
[image error]Panoramic view from Sunrise point @ Saputara

If in Saputara, do visit this beautiful point.

[image error]Panoramic view from Sunrise point @ Saputara
[image error]Panoramic view from Sunrise point @ Saputara
[image error]Panoramic view from Sunrise point @ Saputara
[image error]Panoramic view from Sunrise point @ Saputara

 

Pro-top: The way uphill is a little tricky and scary, so we recommend an experienced person to drive the car. Also, there’s a small Ganesha temple at the bottom which is worthy of a visit too.

[image error]Ganesha temple near Sunrise point @ Saputara

 

 

Joyous Surroundings Lead To Joyful Beings ~ An Urban Designer & Blogger Shares Her Journey

John Ruskin, says,

“We require from buildings two kinds of goodness: first, the doing their practical duty well: then that they be graceful and pleasing in doing it.”

In today’s #MondayMotivation blog focusing on #WonderWomen segment, we present a woman who thinks along these lines and strives hard to implement this too. Meet, Architect, Lecturer (@University of California Berkeley), Urban Design Associate (@Alta Planning + Design), Blogger and founder of Joyful Urbanist, Arti Harchekar. Through Joyful Urbanist, Arti aims to spread awareness about charming and sustainable public spaces and how these impacts our overall happiness. What made Arti plunge into this unique way of life and how does she manage such a diverse work life? Let’s find out in her own words.

 

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“I actually started off pre-pharmacy in undergrad at the University of Texas at Austin. I spent the first 3 years of college knowing I did not like pharmacy and struggling to find what I did enjoy. I randomly took a class about the death and life of cities by an inspirational architecture professor and found myself hanging on to his every word. I knew I loved living in downtown Austin, but this class started to help me see why. This launched me into a career in urban design which was followed by a Masters in City Architecture and Urban Design from the University of Notre Dame.

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Today, thanks to that random decision of attending an architecture class, I wear so many hats related to the same field. I’m a lecturer of Architecture at the University of California Berkeley, an Urban Design Associate at Alta Planning + Design, which ultimately led to me being a blogger and an artist through Joyful Urbanist.

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Even before Joyful Urbanist came into being, I have spent my professional and academic career advocating for the creation of walkable, sustainable communities by way of physical placemaking.

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My biggest obstacle was in 2017-2018 when I was diagnosed with general anxiety disorder and major depression. There was no major life event that caused my mental health issues. It was simply a chemical imbalance that many women run into in their 30’s. Despite having a smooth professional and personal life, I fell victim to such a mental health issue, which made me wonder how it would be for others, who had to undergo physical as well as emotional breakdowns every day.

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The numbers are actually staggering. 450 million people worldwide suffer from mild-to-serious mental health issues. Of this, women are disproportionately affected. 13.6 million Americans live with serious mental illness and 1 in 8 women can expect to develop clinical depression during her lifetime. It wasn’t really surprising then that I too was one of them. During this time, I was struggling to find my purpose. I thought that this is the end for me and my interest in life. My most difficult mental symptom was paranoia, and physical symptom was silence. It took a village of support to get me where I am today. And if not for my husband, I don’t think I don’t I would have stepped out and taken that first consultation, or even the rest that followed.

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I took time off of work to test medications and get better. It was a dark time, and I thought that I was not passionate about urbanism anymore. During this time, I conducted my own Happiness Project without even knowing it! The authors of books and hosts of podcasts became my best friends. I wanted to figure out what I loved again, even if that had to be in silence. This lead to curiosity, experiments, and exploration with my husband Varun and my dog Mylo. I began to realize that the joy and happiness I experienced in walkable urban places are the moments that helped pull me out of my mental health issues. I wanted to further understand and help others see the physical attributes of our environments that enable us to form strong, emotional attachments to the places we love.

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It was a time to reflect upon myself which led to wonderful self-discovery. I discovered that I love ice cream, city architecture, urbanism, travel, exploration,community, high intensity interval training (HIIT), yoga, other creatives, experimentation, food, wine, local farms, community gardens, urban farming and the cross-pollination of ideas. Besides Varun and Mylo, I drew motivation from reading, interacting with people and listening to what others in similar situations had to go through or how they overcame their mental issues. I was inspired by Ingrid Fetell Lee’s TED2018 Where Joy Hides and How to Find It which led me to launch Joyful Urbanist.

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The learnings are continuous. I learn something every time I write a blog post, work on a new design challenge with junior designers, teach a group of students, and generate a presentation. I believe in a growth mindset and try to keep my mind open to experiencing and accomplishing anything new. Through this journey, I strive to maintain perspective and remember that my self-worth is not tied to my job or success defined by others. The most significant knowledge I have gained is from Stumbling on Happiness. Here, we learn that the brain remembers unhappy memories more vividly than happy ones. As designers, is it our responsibility to advocate for a public realm that triggers joyful memories? I think we all need a little help to outsmart our whirring minds.

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In my quest to make people understand the importance of public spaces and their designs, besides Joyful Urbanist, I have given the following recent talks relating to urban design and physical placemaking:

“Our Greatest Source of Joy and Happiness are the Vibrant, Walkable Public Spaces Around Us,” as Joyful Urbanist Oklahoma Mayor’s Institute on City Design
“Translating Community Character into Planning Practice,” CNU27
“Art Room: Urban Spaces and the Design of Public,” as Joyful Urbanist CNU27
“Bay Area Solutions to National Problems,” San Francisco National APA

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To drop in a message to Arti, to read her insightful blogs or to buy one of her many creative wall-art pieces, follow the links below:

Joyful Urbanist website (blog)
Society6.com  (link to buy wall pieces of Joyful Urbanist)
Instagram page of Joyful Urbanist
Arti’s personal Instagram handle
Facebook page of Joyful Urbanist