Tag: Pagesfromydiary

Do Books have a shelf life? 

Not exactly from the time they have been published until they hit the stores and are ready to witness the books flying off the shelf. 

But, from the time they are published until the time, the reader figures this is a book he/she would like to read at a certain time of their life if not now. 

Does the book hold the same relevance to the reader it had when it was released in the market? 

Some bestsellers no matter when you read them. They still are relevant, They fall in the bracket of classics, classics that become the reference points for other authors and readers to compare that work with the current ones written in a similar style. 

But, years later when you recommend them to someone would the book have the same impression and effect on the reader too? 

Or would the reader wonder what was special about the book or would have outgrown the subject if they had already experienced something similar in real life or in another, a book that wasn’t necessarily a bestseller but a book worth reading or investing your time in it? 

And with social media, content flows all across a range of channels, what happens to books that become the source of content, Does the reader still enjoy reading the book as a whole? 

Or do social media opinions play on the minds of the reader to read classics/Bestsellers? 

Curise Control 2024 Getaway.

Having travelled by Air, Train and Road the only mode of transportation left to experience was to travel by Sea, The cruise experience, was one of its kind. We were very sceptical about travelling and experiencing the Cruise and the Sea Sickness, How were we going to manage on the ship for so long and how do we go about the whole journey?
Fortunately, We bumped into the Man who would make the whole cruise experience seamless and memorable.
From the moment we checked in to the cruise, We had surprises waiting to unfold.
We had an invite sent for the exclusive meet-up with the team and a few guests who were part of the Heaven Suites.
On our first day during the dinner at Manhattan Restaurant, Where the menu changes every day and doesn’t require a reservation, We had a table ready for us.
We had meal suggestions from the chef.
The meal had seafood dishes,0% Alcohol Wine and Mocktails with Meat and desserts.
We had a team who had planned our next few days on the ship including our restaurant reservation for the whole journey.
The first Dock at Cannes – Was another experience of priority guests for the tender boat. ( Cannes is a tender port on Cruises, The Ship docks at a distance Before the tenders are released in Slots and on Reservation only. )
We had the priority to get on board the cruise.
Cannes, We do it again! A city known for the Film Festival is a beautiful stroll in the Promenade de la Croisette, The Cinematic painting on the walls and the walk through narrow steeped lanes while a red carpet awaits you to walk the steps of an auditorium that overlooks the French Rivera.
While that was the glamorous walk on the stage, the walk off to the Marche Forville
A weekend food Market was an interesting experience with so many fresh herbs and cheese available to taste, Before we headed to the beach.
Back on the Ship, We took a break to explore the ship before we headed to change for Dinner.
We explored the Reading Room – The Reading Room had an amazing collection of the new popular bestsellers with a view of the sea. Also a gaming room for ones who like to play chess with their mates.
Walking around the bars, We had a photographer doing photo shoots with backdrops and Art being displayed on the sides while we walked.

The next day we visited another port Civitavecchia and it seemed like the hottest day!


The highlight was Naples! We had made a reservation for Michele’s pizza!Rated as  The World’s Best Pizza.A 150 years old pizzeria `
Just 4 choices on the menu to choose from and order, Margherita being the original.
Legend has it, that the Queen ordered and loved the pizza so much! That it was named the Margherita. If you don’t have a reservation? You can take a takeaway from
The one-mile-long Queue side of the Restaurant. Braving the rain was worth it here!

And for those who are avid Football fans!
Here, is an interesting Trivia. Mardonaa was from Naples, and there is a mural and Fan made space in Naples!

Cagliari, Sardinia though a beautiful town, We hardly had any time here!  
Spain Palma De Mallorca was the surprise city For us! It was beautiful with a mix of the Middle East, Tangier in Morocco and hints of Europe! The cathedral was beautifully built with the best view of the sea and a sunset worth coming back to!
Ibiza! We would have liked to be here overnight to experience the Nightlife, but the day trip! Reminds you a lot about Greece.

Coming back to the cruise!

Each dinner meal was an experience!
Right from Indian delicacy Butter Chicken, Samosa and South Indian style Jumbo prawns and indian style Fish that were specially curated for us. The dessert Gajar ka Halwa! Couldn’t have been a better conclusion to our Indian Meal.
The French Meal at Le Bistro on the Escape ship was esquite with Jumbo size lobster and nice chunks of Sea Bass! With French onion Soup and herbed butter that was made of snails.
The Italian Meal at La Cucina- The pizza was at par with Michele’s we had in Naples!
Our Italian meal were with Risotto fungi mushroom truffles, With Amaretto liqueur and limoncello on ice on the sides.
For dessert, we had one of the best Panna Cotta till date, Tiramisu It was so good, that We went again the next day to Only have one more slice of tiramisu.
Teppanyaki – The Japanese Experience!
This was Very good + Entertainment.
A table of ten with a total of seven of us and it was a fun interactive dinner for us with tricks while our food was being prepared.
Tried a Wasabi Cocktail! And it was a sweet and spicy fusion drink.
The Moderno – The Brazilian steakhouse was reliving our Brazil meal again that we had a few months ago! And it was as good as that one! With meats and bread.
Cagney Steakhouse: a signature Restaurant that is there is most of the NCL cruises was an American steakhouse experience where we had very good Crab Cakes, Lobsters and calamari!  
The last but not the least Bayamo was the best seafood dinner meal with very huge size shrimps! And fish! That just melted away! And the birthday Surprise meal with a huge cake was the highlight of Dad’s 60th.
They also set up the room to celebrate the birthday to an amazement with chocolates, A spa voucher and a bottle of Wine and champagne!

The ship had a lot of other offerings, the gaming arcade, Table Tennis , Pools, The Mini Golf course, a Jogging track, Water slides for the kids or the kid in You! Rope walking For the adventurous one.
For the one’s who like to drink, there are about 15 odd bars to choose your drinks from and many spots you would like to Keep hanging around ,While you enjoy your drink. Many other interactive activities are scheduled throughout the cruise, and you have the freedom to attend or skip them!
If you haven’t cruised yet! Now is the perfect time to take control of your cruise Break.

Cruise Route:

Travel to Barcelona

9 Days

Barcelona – Cannes – Livorno- Civitavecchia-Naples- Cagliari-Palma De Mallorca – Ibiza- Barcelona

Mediterranean Cruise…

Port of Call: #barcelona
Day 1: #Cannes
Day2: #Livorno- #Florence and #Pisa Around the port
Day3: Overnight at #Livorno
Day4: #Civitavecchia – #Rome is close to this port
Day 5: #Naples
Day6: #Calgilari
Day 7: #Palmademallorca
Day 8: #Ibiza
Day 9: #Barcelona

Barcelona sightseeing:

Parkguell

Gaudi

sagradafamilia

Casabatlo

Cafes:
@nomadcoffee

Food:
@tapatapabarcelona

Food:

Churros #patatbravas

Cannes:

Marché Forville -Food Market

Livorno:
Cathedrals

Naples:
@pizzeriadamichele : Bucket list, Done after a decade!

Palma:
Cafes @arabaycoffee @thebarnberlin

Hyderabad Biryani!


Five Years later, Hyderabad had transformed into a city, Since I had last visited for an event in 2019.
Flyovers, so much of construction happening. 
And a Metro too! This city felt like another city altogether.
The huge spaces of cafes, Restaurants the long wait In Queues. Was this Hyderabad? 
The Knowledge City, A landmark that Housed offices, Restaurants and a Cafe was like What BKC is to Mumbai! 
Hi-Tech City and Gochibawli landmarks were like the Magarpata township of Pune. 
The Jubilee Hill cafes and restaurants were like the Indiranagar and Koramangala of Bangalore or Koregoapark of Pune.
And this was just one side of the city I had visited. 
The retail showrooms were huge, and like how  Linking Road Mumbai has standalone stores the Hyderabad city too had them with luxury brands on the main road. 
Katha cafe felt like Subko in so many ways font, Styling of the space and branding too. 
The cafes Toops & Katha two of the ones I visited had Corridor Seven coffee being served, A coffee roaster from Nagpur, Mithilesh V and One of the first Aeropress championship winners from India started this.
Surprisingly Hyderabad had more vegetarian food options, compared to my last visit.
Manam Chocolate Kharkhana. Was an experience. A Chocolate Cafe, Store and Chocolate Factory Experience in Hyderabad. 
You could taste all the chocolates Bars, ice cream, Chocolate flakes and Barks, Hot chocolate too, A complete chocolate Paradise. 
The Hyderabad we know as Charminar, Ramoji Film City and Golconda Fort felt very long from the side we were stationed in Hyderabad. 
The Taj Hotel Falaknuma too was another side. Hyderabad city had become a huge city from what I had travelled to the last time. 
Hyderabad is surely a city to watch out for! 
In India.

Cafes:

Roast CCX

Roastery House

Manam Chocolate

Indian Reader


Does India Read? Do Indians Read? 
And if they do what do they read? 
Well, India is slowly getting into the habit of reading books! And a lot of them have been enjoying reading books. But, this India that I am talking about is not the one that is into literature books. But, a new emerging audience of readers is discovering reading books is not for the joy of it. But, to improve my English speaking skills, Vocabulary and diction. These readers are the ones who make up the large population that we have. But again are we growing in numbers? Who enjoy reading Mythology, Romance, and Young Adult books. The authors who have successfully managed to capture their audience are the likes of Chetan Bhagat, Preeti Shenoy, Durjoy Datta, Ravinder Singh, Anuja Chauhan, and Robin Sharma to name a few…Others like Amrish Tripathi and Devdutt Patnaik are Gaining popularity amongst new readers who are interested in reading books. 
But, what are the avid literary Indian readers reading today? 
They are the ones who like reading Amitav Ghosh, Sudha Murthy, Chitra Banerjee, Arvind Adiga, and Arundhati Roy, which are some of the books which the other Indian audiences are reading. 
But, the positive side of the reader reading in India is they have started reading books of Indian authors from India.

How to choose Watches!

How do you choose a Watch? 

Firstly, think about why are you looking to buy a watch? Is it a milestone you are celebrating? 

Or you have liked it, because it looks cool, and you spotted your role Model/ Favourite celebrity wearing it and would like to own that watch. 

These are some of the reasons. 

But, you could also like the Watch, Because You simply like it for its design, And it’s distinctive from anything you have seen before! 

Or You have aspired to own a particular make or brand  since your childhood.  

But, at the same time, You might have liked the simplicity of the complications it has to offer, The perpetual calendar, The Moon phase, The GMT dial or a simple analog watch whose needles fascinate you. 

Or it would be the Mechanism movement you have also been in awe of a Automatic, Mechancial winding. 

The Size of the Watch,  Small, Medium size or Large sizes. 

Watches have an history and often an association that we look into when owning that timepiece. 

Oh! It could also be a limited edition timepiece or an investment you would like to make. 

But, it’s the only Jewellery piece that a Man has on his wrist always. It’s not something you buy to keep a watch on the time. 

But, something that you would like to keep for the rest of your life. 

Something we don’t often think about is the Age at which we own the watch, sometime we might be too young to own that or too old to have it. 

Some of the most prominent watch makers to consider. 

Swatch, Tissot, Timex, Casio, G-Shock, Seiko in the entry level segment

For premium level you could look into : 

Oris, Beaume & Mercier, Breitling

Luxury would be: Omega, Panerai, Cartier, Tag Heuer, Tudor 

Ultra Luxury: Audermars, Rolex, Patekh Philips 

Some Indian watchmakers you might like to look into are Jaipur Watch Company and Horpa. 

Jaipur Watch company has some interesting designs of watches like the Stamp watch. 

Horpa a fairly new brand has the look of Blancpain and Swatch watches. 

But, watches are always a personal choice. 

Design, Make and functions are always something you must consider personally.