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.

Best Reads 2019!!

 

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2019 read I mostly read classics, which were on my reading list until this year. There have just been a couple new books that I read this year. Educated & Ikigai has been the two of them and the rest I am sure you must have heard about them or must have read them. Sharing my best of 2019 below!!

1.Norweigan Wood by Haruki Murakami 
A Story titled from the Beatles song Norwegian wood is a weekend read over coffee and sunset.
And Written by Murakami is a story of college students living in Japan, there is no doubt about you not enjoying the book. 
 
2.Fountainhead by Ayn Rand 
For the last two years this book was on my reading list, But, This year I stopped giving any excuses and read the book. Took me the longest time to ever to read a book four weeks,700 pages.
It’s was one of the best books to get an insight on Architecture & Philosophy in one of the finest storytelling way.
 
3. Bastard Of Istanbul by Elif Shafak 
Elif Shafak’s Forty Rules of love I had read a couple of months ago and enjoyed the book a lot.
But, This one was like a souvenir as this came from Turkey, Istanbul itself and having visited Istanbul nearly a decade ago,
this was a very nostalgic read but through the eye of a local. 
 
4.Ikigai by Francesc Miralles and Hector Garcia
Ikigai was one of the best and only self-help book read this year.
Japanese teaching.A diet. And the reason behind our existence.
This book will want you to visit Japan again or want you to get to Japan at the earliest. 
 
5.Cuba and the night by Pico Iyer 
A Book that made me travel to Cuba virtually and enjoy the travelogue writing style and make me meet characters who have to sacrifice or who want to move ahead in life, Take steps that improve their way of living and live a life.  
 
6.Midsummer Equation by Keigo Higashino
Keigo Higashino the author of the midsummer equation is the author for the Devotion of suspect X that was largely spoken about when the book released.
The midsummer equation is a chilling, thrilling story about how detective Galileo solves the murder mystery in a small town of Hari cove.
It’s the best Murder mystery book that I have read this year. It’s a page-turner until the very end. 

7. Educated by Tara Westover

A memoir about how one fought from its family and how until then the family records weren’t part of the government’s database. No Education in school in childhood, No birth certificate no medical records!! Truly an educational read! This is Tara Westover telling about her life!

A must-read!!!