Category: Cricket

The game of cricket is where the billions heart beats to grab a moment between two games

Amritsar -25th Birthday! 

You really don’t realise how long it has actually been,Until you sit down and think when was the last time… As my parents have been visiting the Golden Temple for years but for the last 5 years and I have missed the opportunity of visiting Amritsar , because of work commitments.This Year I decided for my 25th I wanted to visit the Holy city of Punjab,Amritsar.
It’s been more than two weeks already since we have got  back.But,my birthday weekend was a memorable one.Eating the typical street food from the city,Having the Banta (Lemon juice+Soda+Shikanji) a type of Lemonade.But you just don’t get the same taste.This time I watched him closely,Should try again making at home. 
The Chole+Kulcha and the Kulcha’s had the perfect weather to digest them all,When you  could  Hogg  all day.The Weather being all breezy and Cold.Couldn’t have been a better time to visit the city. 
The Visit to the Golden Temple on our first day in the evening was the calmest and most peaceful visit to any temple so far. 
With just the family-4 of us Mom,Dad,Sister and Me of Course it was a great trip! 
Oh! Not to forget our Amritsar Guide -Ggunjan  for the hospitality and warmth made it a Memorable trip to remember.

2018 Dairies !!

2018 has been a Journey filled with lots of travel Stories. Right From Jaipur to Jodhpur in India to Monoco and Morocco for Work. And not to forget the highlight –  Japan for Family Holiday. 
Culture
Experiencing the Rajasthan culture in India to experiencing the Japanese culture and living the  Moroccan life. 
All these places either had Food, lifestyle or architecture. And these  Culture  became another Journey in itself.
Books worth the Read In 2018. 
Journeys through the books. 
Starting from Exiting West to Landing at the port of Mokha and Many reads in between from open by Andre Agassi to “Killing Commendatore by Murakami  below are the top 5 reads of 2018.
1.Exit West – by Mohsin Hamid  stories of immigrants. 
2.Homo Deus – by Yuval Harari  How the Technology  is collecting data and using it. 
3.Born a Crime – by Trevor Noah A true story of a comedian born in South Africa with a mother being a black and father a white. 
4.Monk of Mokha –  by Dave  Eggers – Story of how The port of Mocha coffee travelled across the international waters.
5.Killing Commendatore – by Murakami
Noteworthy Movies of 2018 
1.Puzzle -How a simple gift of a puzzle changes the perspective of one individual 
2.Crazy Rich Asians – The Big fat Indian wedding going global 
3.Searching – How technology helps track down a father daughter and her murderer. 
4.Ben is Back – A  young drug addict and his mother’s story to come in terms with reality. 
And the Hindi film industry had many movies to choose to watch this year! 
But there a few out there you couldn’t miss at all . 
1.Pad Man by R.Balki was one of the great stories the year began with and continued till Raid, The income tax issue can sometime come as a surprise-Ajay Devgn needs to experiment.
2.Hichki -Though a inspiration from the west.Brought Rani Mukherji Back as a actor and the production house for their content. 
3.Missing the only missing from this psychology thriller was the audience who missed one of the best thrillers of the year.
4.October – Simple stories are the most difficult to tell.And October by Shoojit Sircar was one such story.
5.Beyond the cloud by Majid Majidi -Had the world  take notice of Ishan Khattar as an actor & performer 
Raazi,Soorma,Parmanu,Andhadhun,Badhaai Ho ! And Manmarziyaan were a few movies to watch out. 

The Monk of Mokha -Book Review !

The Monk of Mokha is a true story about Mokthar alkhanshali who did many odd jobs until one day when a lady asked  #Mokhtar have you seen the statue across the street?  and she was surprised he had never seen the statue. 
That’s a statue of Yemini dude Al Shadhili  known as the monk of Mokha. drinking a big cup of coffee, she told him. 
That’s got to mean something.May be this is your thing.You’re 25.Pick a direction for your life.
And thus began the journey for Mokthar and Port of Mokha. But it wasn’t easy and all the struggle during the civil war in Yemen is narrated and the final escape from Aden to US to exporting the grounds is nail biting.Just like as if you are reading a thriller.
Trivia:
1.Port of Mokha – Was  the primary point of all coffee grown in Yemen.
2. 2014 mokhtar became the worlds  1st Arab Q grader of arabica coffees.
3.Q Grading program :The Q grader program was first launched in 2004, It’s six full days of intense training.The certification is useful for purchasing coffee, selecting roast profiles and production/processing methods, understanding coffee origins, and more.
4.In 80 years it was the 1st time coffee left from the port of Mokha in Yemen during the civil war 
5.As of spring 2017 farmers replaced 17,000 qat plants with Coffee trees.
6.The 1st container of 18,000 kg of port of Mokha was sold out across 4 continents in 45 days.
7. February  2017 -Coffee review awarded port of Mokha’s haymah microlat 97 rating the highest score issued in the publication 20 years.
8.The first coffee house was called Qahveh Qahveh

Weekend in Sri Lanka !

Having visited Sri Lanka five years ago.I was familiar with the city.

And the excitement of working on Project for a Destination that I would be visting again after a five years was on another level.

I did not know what to expect in the five years that had gone by .And after travelling extensively to all Major countries in the World. I really had no Idea what to expect from the country,Once I visit it again.

A Couple of weeks later,We were considering going for a Recce to Sri Lanka to finalise the venues & Hotel with the client.

We Landed in Sri lanka and the complete Journey was a revelation of how much the country had developed in terms of it’s infrastrcture expressways throughout Galle,Colombo to cities around sri lanka last time there were no such Roads like these.

Galle Fort was very much the same with quite a few restaurants newly opened and stores like Barefoot still being one of the stores to visit in Galle.

The Cricket Stadium being in the city and connecting the fort is something that most unusal about the City.

Visited some New places around Galle.

Mirissa – which is popular for the whale watching experience & Weligama where so many hotels chains have opened and are opening for the breathtaking view of the blue waters from the rooftop terraces.

Colombo felt like the city that has developed so much with real estate investments from around the world & within the country.So Many Hotels chains to have opened while some had gone through the reovations to still be considred as one of the hotel options to stay & experience their hospitality while others want the tourist & locals to experience thiers.

Ministry of Crab – The only Resturant in Sri lanka to be part of the Asia’s 50 Best Resturant 2017 And to have Sri Lanka on the World Map for it’s Food.. And the Man behind is the celebratory Chef Dharshan Mundaisa- Is behind the fame Resturant (Nihonbashi)

Ministry of Crab is in with Partnership with Sri lankan cricketers Mahela Jawardene & Kumar Sangakkara.

I also had the opporunity to meet Mahela Jawardene at the Ministry of crab when we visited the restaurant during our visit.

Dharshan Mundaisa has also partnered with Jacquline ferandez for Keamesutra another restaurant that specialises in Japanese Food at the Shangri-la Colombo.

Dutch Hospital Street is the most lively street to be on weekend with live music performances,Bars and a resturants to choose from.

Sri lanka has more to offer than just Cinamon & Tea.

It’s the Goa of Sri Lanka .

The Coffee Experience!

Syphon – A tube used to convey liquids upwards from a reservoir and then down to a lower level of its own accord.

Once the liquid has been flown into the tube typically by suction or immersion flow continues unaided.

Now imagine-This is a coffee making method in Japan known as Siphon coffee Which was invented in 1840 by a French housewife and a Scottish marine engineer -Marie Fanny Amelne Massot of Lyons of France known as Mme. The design was initially known as Vasseiux -Two glass balloons shaped held together (The same design is the Siphon coffee makers we know today )At the same time Scottish marine engineers was working on his version which was known as Napier coffee pot which was awarded by the  institution of mechanical engineers in 1856.

The syphon is becoming so popular around the world -Every coffee shop has it on their menu today.On my Recent visit to the Coffee Di Bella Exclusive outlet.

I couldn’t resist trying out the syphon and while my cousin too was on a coffee date with me.We ordered the Syphon and

The whole coffee making process  was made interesting by Jaykrut from

coffee Di Bella who was very enthusiastic about us two braving the rains and walking into the coffee shop for the cinematic coffee experience .

The phrase there isn’t any business like show business holds true for this coffee making  method.

Water is poured into one glass that’s at the bottom.

Cut to :

The burner it could a manual or electric burner.(The one which you get part of the kit is a Manual one) is lit and you could see the water boiling.

Long shot :

The coffee  grounds are poured and the glass is pressed down (Those familiar with French press coffee technique) and the coffee grounds get mixed with the waters and the coffee is now getting brewed.

And is ready to be served  a minute later.

Enjoy the cup of coffee with cookies.

Fade to black.