Author: Akhil Nanda

I am Still Trying To Write ...

Jaisalmer: Rajasthan February 2020!!

After travelling to nearly most of the prominent cities of the state. (Jaipur, Udaipur, Jodhpur ) Jaisalmer was one that I had not visited yet or hadn’t experienced yet.

But, a Weekend Gateway that was planned was the perfect chance to Witness the city in it’s truest sense. Immediately after coming back from Nagpur, The next morning, I had taken the flight for Jaisalmer- There was a huge excitement of going to a new place, and that was from the moment we took off to the moment we were landing, A total Desert area I hadn’t witnessed anything like this since a long time and THE Best place in Jaisalmer SURYAGHAR was my subject and venue for the weekend. And what a property- Sunrise point to a sunset point and the structure like a fort was like the perfect combination of the destination and property. The other most important highlight remains the Dunes journey – Photographing and recording the sunset until we reached the venue, where we going to experience a new “Dawn” We had a lively night with entertainment, Guest dancing to DJ Tunes Until a Guest Deejayed the party until the end. The party went all night and we called it a day at 6:30 am at the dunes, but captured and lived the sunrise on the journey back to our hotel.

Jaisalmer has museums and fort which one must visit on their visit to the city, But should also experience Sand Dunes when they are in the city.

#ARVINDDUBASH50TH

Self Isolation – Coronavirus!

It isn’t something that isn’t new anymore in the digital age! 
But, When you are forced to be self-isolated all of a sudden. That’s the challenge. 
And what does one really do in self- isolation? 
  • You can look for self-improvement. 
  • Exercise – Start with a routine which you can follow (Push-ups, Planks and crunches, Meditation, Breathing)and stretches at home. 
  • Read – If you always wanted to read that favourite book or start reading- Now is a perfect time – You can read books on kindle or subscribe on Magzter for all the popular magazines and newspaper and Flipboard for all interesting articles.  
  • Write – Start writing a diary, notes of what was the unexpected or expected that happened today. 
  • Draw – If you were always interested in Art than now explore that side. 
  • Cook & Bake – Learn to make your favourite things at home. https://www.youtube.com/user/BonAppetitDotCom
  • Learn – Something online that you would like to know more about. – You can lookup https://www.coursera.org/ & https://www.edx.org/  you can also learn a language https://www.duolingo.com/ 
  • Social Media – Now is the perfect time to start your own online channel and share what you know.
  • Watch Movies & Tv show – Netflix, Hotstar, Prime Play,zee5, Balaji Alt MUBI and Ted Talks
  • Play- Online Games with your friends. 
  • Listen – To Podcasts  – https://tunein.com/podcasts/Science-Podcasts/Stuff-You-Should-Know-p295446/ https://tunein.com/podcasts/Comedy-Podcasts/The-Read-p499920/ and on Saavn you can listen to a whole lot of them too.
But most importantly one will need to be Disciplined to Implement any of things they would like to begin and one more tip have a schedule for the day to try and work out the forced self- isolation period.

Nagpur!!

Hereafter nearly two years again! The last time I was here it was summer, And now it’s winter.

Nagpur is growing and expanding, so huge last time had seen one side of the town & this time another.

After nearly the whole day went by ,and we decided to go for dinner.The moment we turned towards our location, I broke into a whole new level of excitement as for once we were in the right direction and this is somewhere exactly I had come last time!

We were at Chill & Grill literally enjoying the chilling winter of Nagpur with my colleagues enjoying the hookah and we were enjoying some Indian food.

Even during the day just like in the night, we were lost in finding the place.

And With this time around having a few days in hand to explore the city – Visited a very interesting cafe seven corridor a very urban looking cafe in the by lanes of the city with college kids and adults enjoying coffee,Cakes and each other’s company.

This time in Nagpur,After nearly two years visited my friends parents and noticed a Macdonald has finally now opened in the city. Two Years ago I had tweeted- There was not a single macdonald to my surprise in a city that’s one of the smart cities to watch out for.

Nagpur also made me try quite a few places and sharing some of the places you must try or go to if you visit the city.

• Juhi’s Kitchen – Indian food Kebabs a must try.

• Plan B – If you ever plan to have Burgers or feel like having burgers.

• Pablo Cafe – The Pizza’s and the cafe looked really cool ! Haven’t visited though just ordered food from there.

• Bouffage – The Sandwhich here were yum !

• Della Italia – For Ice creams.

• Chill & Grill – For The ambience and Indian food.

Saoji’s a traditional dish that is served in Meat & Chicken too is a must must try here in Nagpur and last but not the least- Oranges here are the juicest.

Reading- Reader!

 

Reading : 

There is so much that goes into breaking down the story, The thought, the idea – Where you can look at a simple story from your point of view and your personal experience, the difference & Similarities you felt before you read the book and travelled to the authors country to reading a book after travelling to the authors country to living the authentic life of the story you read- Behaving like the characters you loved the most and travelling and believing you are living in that city or travelling to the exact locations of where the story takes places to compare how the author has matured over time by comparing his previous works to the most recent works. 

Reading can enrich you in so many ways! It can make you look at the same things through a tunnel vision or through an experts eye and give you clarity by reading similar topics from other authors. 

Reading makes you imagine a certain thing and when you travel to that particular place, the reality is different or the same vision you were shown by the author. 

Reading can give you insights about locals otherwise you would be Oblivious to. 

And when you are part of a reading club – You can associate with so many things through the experiences of others as well as yours. 

Djembe Expercience!

The first social outing for the year!

Began with an evening at a friends place with about eight more couples invited for the evening. The Evening felt like “The invitation” as the couples that were invited that evening were from different backgrounds.

The evening was all about first breaking the ice between all of us incase we did not know anyone or were meeting some of them after long.

But, The highlight of the evening was “Drumming Circle” Where an organisation “Drumwithfreedom” Had carried twenty odd Djambe drums – A style drum of drum that origins from African. djembe comes from the saying “Anke djé, anke bé” which translates to “everyone gather together in peace”

“djé” is the verb for “gather” and “bé” translates as “peace.”

But the catch here was we the guest were involved in being part of the activity right from starting first with right hand than to left hand and later coordinating all that we learnt repeatedly until all are hands went Red. 

This was a wonderful experience as it broke the monotony of a typical social event,Was a New experience and was in many ways great to share how we all felt by doing this activity as a team and as an individual. 

What a way to start the year and the decade with another “New learning” and a New experience. 

A little history about the instrument.

•In the 1980s, a number of Guinean djembefolas started hosting tours to Guinea, allowing djembe students to experience Guinean culture first-hand.

•Djembe players use three basic sounds: bass, tone, and slap, which have low, medium, and high pitch, respectively.

•The combination of rhythm and the differently pitched sounds often leads an inexpert listener to believe that more than one drum is being played.

•The djembe is headed with a rawhide skin, most commonly goatskin. Other skins, such as antelope, cow, kangaroo, or horse can be used as well. Thicker skins, such as cow, have a warmer sound with more overtones in the slaps; thinner skins have a sharper sound with fewer overtones in the slaps and are louder

A typical evening just like how I had experienced:

Musicians form a circle, with the centre of the circle reserved for dancers. Depending on the particular rhythm being played, dances may be performed by groups.