A Pondicherry Trip, Prateek Kuhad, And Instagram-Worthy Pictures

After much planning and cancellations of long journey trips my best friends and I finally decided to go to Pondicherry earlier this year, in March. We three have been friends for more than 15 years now, and it took us quite a while to take a long trip. We would plan big things, but would end up going to Alibaug or Lonavala😂 

We had actually planned our Goa trip in May 2020, however, because of COVID, we had to cancel our trip. But this year, we were determined. We had to make it to some place out of Mumbai, out of Maharashtra in fact, and have fun. For me personally, planning this trip seemed like a breeze particularly because just a month before our Pondicherry trip, I took a guided solo trip to Kerala along with other strangers. Some time later, I will write about my Kerala trip too. All in all, this Kerala trip made me more travel confident and I became more proactive on planning trips. 

We were visiting in March, when this place would be hot and sunny so we had to pack in early summer travel essentials like instagram-worthy sundresses, light & breathable outfits, comfortable shorts, sun glasses, a few kurtis for religious visits, sun glasses, a wide-brimmed hat, smart skincare like pre sunscreen facewash, and ofcourse, sunscreen. We also carried a jacket for cooler evenings.

Pondicherry Was The Best Highlight of 2023

All my close friends know that this Pondicherry trip was an emotional, and a soul-enriching experience, for a lot of reasons. Firstly, it was our first long journey outside Maharashtra. Secondly, it was with my closest friends, and our bond became stronger with this trip. Most importantly, it was in a beautiful place favoured by Mother Nature, and inhabited by kind and helpful locals. 

How could I forget about the IG-worthy backdrops in Pondicherry! That was literally the main reason why we went there😀 Pretty cafes, and pretty walls, what else would an aesthetics want?!

ChatGPT really helped us figure out our packing essentials like smart skincare  pre-sunscreen facewash, kinds of dresses to carry, and itinerary. We made a workable day-wise itinerary by ourselves in a way that we could cover more places in a convenient way – without too much hassle.

Reaching Pondicherry By Air & Local Transport 

You can reach Pondicherry by boarding a flight to Chennai, Tamil Nadu and then taking an AC bus to Pondicherry. You can also take a direct pre-booked cab to your hotel from Chennai airport. We stayed in a beautiful AirBnB property called, ‘Blissful Stay’ in Auroville Road, Candappa Nagar.

Return air ticket: Rs. 6535 per person

Airbnb: Rs. 4666 per person

AC Buses from Chennai Airport to Pondicherry: Rs. 750+

Only 1 of us knew how to ride a scooty or bike so local travel was not in our favour! We had to travel through an auto rickshaw that would not charge us any far below 100! So, we recommend that you and your friends learn to ride a scooty or bike! We incurred a total expense of Rs. 15000 per person including food, travel, transport, and stay for our 3 nights 4 day stay. 

What I really loved about our pretty AirBnB property is how aesthetically driven it was. Upon entering the room, we were greeted with white sheet clad sofa and curvy diagonal shaped chrome coloured floor tiles. I believe most AirBnB properties have an aesthetic appeal, as that is what is special about Pondicherry. The bedroom had a 2 storey seating / sleeping arrangement attached to the wooden Almirah style decorated bed. Our property was close to the Auroville Road, which had an array of cafes and restaurants, along with grocery stores selling farm grown produce. 

Vibing To Prateek Kuhad

One of the best things about this trip was my friend and I figuring out that we like the same artist! I started listening to Prateek Kuhad just a few days before our trip and I was spellbound. I had heard only the reels version of Kasoor, but when I heard the complete song, followed by Cold/Mess I was like…why didn’t I experience this magic before in my life? And then I was just hooked to his music.

My friend had carried her bluetooth speaker (that’s a must!). I just happened to loop in the Kasoor song, and my best friend and I just looked at each other with pure joy. “You listen to him?!” She said, and then we unfolded a sweet chapter of our friendship. We listened to more Indie music, by Prateek Kuhad, and Anuv Jain. We carried our Bluetooth speaker to beaches, and grooved to the magic of his music.  Our other friend didn’t quite love his music, but simply appreciated the calmness it had 😀

A Visit To White Town

This was also a memorable chapter in our Pondy trip. White Town is like ‘every photographer’s dream’. Whether it is vintage bicycles against vibrant yellow walls, or attractive doors outside cafes,  the instagrammable walls of Cafe Des Artes’, you’ll find the most IG Worthy snaps in this place. We took so many solo pictures that I still use for my WhatsApp and Instagram display pictures! You’ll notice that the locals here can speak French as well (since Pondy was a Portuguese colony)

P.S. Make sure you apply your smart skincare pre-sunscreen best facewash for women and sunscreen before you go out in the sun! 

The Beaches Of Pondicherry

The Serenity beach was close to our property. It was outlined by rocks and had a beautiful skyview. We found strange types of dead fish on the sea shore that included puffer fish too. Another pretty beach is the Pondicherry Promenade, which is filled with famous attractions, shopping places and statues such as that of Gandhiji’s. This entire stretch confirmed that this Union Territory was God’s favourite! The trees, the simplicity, the picturesque views, the entire place was beautiful. 

We also visited the ‘Eden beach’, which is the first blue flag beach of Pondicherry. When you go to Eden beach, you are greeted by the backwaters of Chunnabar river, and thick palm groves. This place has a pristine shoreline, serene view, and a lively atmosphere. We saw a couple of people shooting TikToks and reels. You can’t go close to the beach after 6:30 PM. Police officials will request you to move away from the shoreline after this time. 

Remember, don’t go out without applying smart skincare pre sunscreen facewash and sunscreen 😀and yes, take your sunglasses too! Be absolutely sun prepped.

Auroville’s Experimental Township

Auroville actually offers numerous activities like pottery workshops, Yoga, dawn fire gatherings but you can participate in these activities if you are staying there as a tourist. Since we had just gone there to visit, we just got to scroll around the nature-filled landscape, view the magnificent Matrimandir, and touch the delightfully orange bright soil of this township. We had Paneer Makhani, followed by milkshakes in a cafe set up in Auroville. I spoke to a few locals and they were quite sweet! One of them was a teacher, who grew up in Auroville itself. 

We also visited the visitor center from where I packed in gifts for my friends and family. I bought aromatic incense sticks, candles, organic notebooks, and cute miniature dolls. We also bought cakes from the Auroville bakery that tasted yum!

There was also a kitchen in our property, where we’d cook maggi, ready to eat meals, and toast bread. It was quite fun cooking, doing smart skincare OR best brand for skin care and make-up along side friends. The Pondicherry trip made our bond stronger, and sweeter and it will always be a part of my heart, even more so as one of my best friends moved to Canada recently. Hence Pondicherry, you shall be remembered 💟

A free spirited girl

A memory from the past had me revisit my college WhatsApp group to search for an image from the yesteryear. As I scrolled down the memory lane I came across a particular photograph that caught my attention. The same one you see up there. Do you see What I see? If you knew me closely from college then I guess you do. If you don’t, I believe you’ll know by the end of this post.

When I think about my 19 year old self, I’m instantly reminded of the free spirited girl I was back then. I was a hopeful chirpy girl with a smiling face. I was also a dreamy girl with many dreams struggling to gauge what my true ambition really was. I was also naive and delusional at times and I would often live some of the moments as though I were a character from a novel, haha; a serial romanticist I was 🙂

When I look back, I feel relieved because of how far I have come from my thinking process back then. Yes, I can make stronger decisions now and I don’t make rash choices that simply suit the situation. I think through. And most importantly, I am more in reality than 19G ever was. That being said, I also miss that free spirited girl carrying a bundle of joy and love. Wonder what happened? Life maybe? Must have happened to you too hasn’t it?

Well, thank god for pictures for we can take a glimpse of the past and let revertigo power us up even if it were for just a while.

A memory from college made me revisit an image from the yesteryear and I realised just how beautiful memories really are. We have a lot to say to them and they have a lot to give to us 🙂

are you a part of this loop too?

Is this what life is going to be about? A repeating loop of events? Or do we feel so because of social media? Watching people trying to stay relevant, become relevant, achieve glory, have it all only to detox their way out of it.

Flames flirting over Instagram stories, upping their simping game, moving over from the talking stage, to majorly crushing on each other, getting all high on vibes and then closing their chapter. 

A good time ends, life goes on and on and on and on and on and another song trends on Instagram. A music that never took off that well suddenly hits top 10. A music that you swore you’d never succumb to becomes an earworm and you find yourself grooving to it as you swipe up. 

Netflix catches your attention and you watch a nice series that you can finally brag about to your friends who kept debating about it all weekend only to find out that they discovered another cool one.

You put up a meme on your IG Story and people respond to it, reactions keep coming in until they stop. And then you’re left with a void – that’s okay, life goes on and on and on and on and you look up.

You’re in the bus, you look around; everybody around is on their phone. They’re all a part of the same loop that you are in. The same loop that you and I will continue being into until; well, until, a song long forgotten becomes a trend and joins into the loop.

We’re all in the loop. We’re all in the same loop. 

Is this what life is going to be about? A repeating loop of events? Or do we –

The Power of Healing

One of the best feelings in the world is when you feel the nectar of healing all across your senses. You’re happy by yourself and feel the love that you receive from the people who love you.

You’re no longer forcing emotions, friendships and relationships. You acknowledge that every thing that has happened in your life during this entire period – whether good or bad has led to you to this peaceful version of yourself. You understand that things and people change for you when you change your perspective towards them.

You are free. Free from your past, from regrets, guilt, mistakes and trauma. Free from unwanted desires. Free from that baggage you carried all along. You’re free and you feel the beauty within yourself. You feel beautiful inside-out.

This feeling is not far away. Just hang in there. Don’t give up.

You’re almost there.

You’re almost there.

a thousand heartbeats

A glimpse it was supposed to be –
a mere reflex of an action,
that the eye beholds,
when it comes across another form.

A glimpse that turned into a thousand heartbeats,
leaving me smitten after a very long time,
as though I came across a magical being.

Eyes so dark, if I had another glance,
I’d surely discover the universe.
An aura so, so bold, strong and mystical,
as though he were sent from paradise.

A glimpse that turned into a frozen moment
leaving me asking for yet another glance.

Just another glance.

Do you like Cats?

‘That one’s a bit of an asshole.’ A guy at the back said to me as my friend and I lined up to pet the big fat fluffy cat sitting on the boundary of the grassy area in front of us.

It had been a nice evening, Mohil and I met after about 2 weeks. It was not like our usual evening plan where we have an impromptu meet, walk around Hiranandani, catch up on what’s been going in life. Saturday was about that too, except that we did it in style. We did ‘Cafe hopping’ from Starbucks to Aromas and had the plentiest of deep conversations about life, career, finances, etc etc.

The last time we went to our local Starbucks together along with another one of our bffs Smruthi, who recently got married, it was 2014; a few days before Mohil took off for UK to resume her graduation courses.

‘How bad could ‘asshole’ even mean?’ I thought to myself. Before you judge me on my interpretation of Cats-being-Assholes metrics, let me put across that I am not one of those people who grew up around cats and could recognize cat behaviors and stuff like that so I just assumed that Fluffy probably didn’t want to be affectionate enough that time. I have come across him before and petted him before and he’s been fine.

So let’s see what this is about. I went closer to him and sat down, resting my left knee on the ground and slowly petted its head. This is how he looks BTW:

Fluffy cat

So cute right? All Fluffed up and black and white and soo chubby.
I went on petting it for about 8 seconds, 8 seconds of Fluffy nicely enjoying the petting until suddenly it snapped on my hands and gave me multiple scratches on the back of my hands 🙂

‘Asshole’ meant that.

I was taken aback and I deeply felt the transition of my state of mind from happy to shocked that happened within a span of a few seconds.

‘How bad is it?’ Mohil asked me. ‘Just a scratch, bleeding slightly.’ I said.

‘He scratched me too.’ said the guy who had initially warned me about Fluffy.

‘Don’t worry about it, its just a scratch. To be on the safer side, just get yourself a Tetanus shot.’ He said.

We left quite amusingly shocked at whatever we had just witnessed, especially me – in my case I felt like I got scarred for life. I’m not sure if I’ll be ready to pet cats again any time soon! xD

Also, this incident made me realize some facts on a deeper level.
Fluffy clearly was not at its best today. He was eccentric today, probably tired of all the people passing by and petting him and leaving him once they’d have enough of it.

That day, Fluff set a boundary. He thought that the best possible way to stop this was to scare humans so they don’t repeat it any time soon. Fluffy snapped, I got scarred. Fluffy may have forgotten whatever he did shortly after that incident. But I’ll most likely carry this scar (not only on my hands) but also on my heart for quite some time.

I used to not be able to comprehend the impact on people when they’d say things like ‘I am scared of cats/dogs/ because of some frightening experience that may have happened with them as kids. But now I know, this shit is as real as it can get.

Also made me wonder, how some times we do things like what Fluffy did. When we don’t like the way somebody behaves or talks, in order to make them remember the consequences of their actions, we attack people with our words, hurtfully, in a harsh manner so it affects them in a way that resists them from acting in that manner.

Could Fluffy talk to me nicely to stop petting him otherwise? No he couldn’t. But if he could and if he did, could we have avoided this consequence ? Yes.

Do we humans have that choice? 🙂

Did I really break our dreams?

You send me a ‘Gn’ on Whatsapp. I don’t blame you, I deserve a ‘Gn’ especially after I broke your dreams. What were these dreams anyway? Weren’t they fuelled with the memories we shared at the starting few years of our relationship? Is it fair to let memories drive the future?

Certainly it wasn’t just the past that kept us dreaming. We also saw a future together but where were we in the present? Hey – I am the bad guy they write about so you may think that I don’t deserve a story, but I do; of course this involves you getting hurt more than me, but I have also hurt myself and dimmed my inner self to make the future happen because I believed in the future with you.

Sometimes I do think about you then I shake my head and try to stop thinking about you. It works mostly, I have always felt that I would deal with pain strongly; almost ignore it at times but often I forget that I have been victorious only temporarily and that some time down the lane, I’m going to pass through the places we visited on our dates and listen to the songs you recommended to me, and regret breaking our dreams.

Then I’d probably find out through social media about how you are doing and check out your happier pictures and realise that us separating was the right thing to do even when it felt like it was the wrong thing to do in the present.

Did I break our dreams? No, I think I woke you up from what you thought was a dream but it was just a nightmare dressed as a daydream.

A Scene from Tumbbad

I hear the loud banging against the bed, our maid Malti and my beloved husband’s laughs while I sleep in the next room, while he thinks I am sleeping.

He enters our room, and falls to our bed, falling asleep in a very short while.

I gather myself, from the shock that I cannot afford to express to anyone, not even to myself. I breathe carefully, trying not to let him know that I cried.

Our landlord brought Malti to our home, 2 days back as my husband thought I needed a maid. She was a Vidwa, a Widow, whose husband died and she was rescued by our landlord to protect her from the Sati pratha. She was beautiful with very long hair, I wondered why they didn’t cut her hair since

That is what they do with widows, cut their hair so they’re ‘far less pretty’ enough to be safe. They believe a woman’s beauty lies in her hair, the bigger it is, the prettier she is. I always felt it was in their eyes, that say a lot about women.

I wait patiently for the morning, so I can confront Malti about what happened earlier.

I wake up early the coming day to finish up all my house chores, my Husband, wakes up at his leisure and finds his way out to the Verandah, to read the paper.

I enter Malti’s room, she is dressed in her regular Crimson red sari covering her head, the dressing she is expected to adopt after becoming a widow.

With all my anger and frustration I hold her hand and drag her out of the room, slap her. ‘How dare you get close to my husband?’ ‘Didi, I swear, nothing happened between us, I did not even touch him.” I slap her again and drag her towards the entrance. ‘Get out and never show your face to me.’ “What happened Dear, why are you hitting her?” my Husband asks, I look down and take a deep breath, “She stole my money. I cannot let her stay in this house.” My husband smiles, “Alright.” He says and goes back inside. Malti leaves, and I sit on the swing, breathing heavily, enclosing my emotions, a little proud of myself about how I solved the ‘problem’ .
.
Adapted from a scene from a very beautiful Movie ‘Tumbbad’. 

I ate Pizza with a Stranger

It was that time of the month when our bank account makes us hopeful. Salary day. I would rush to my favourite restaurants and treat myself with my favpurite dishes. I used to visit these places with my friends too and enjoy but going on a date with yourself is also one of the best things you can treat yourself with, particularly when it is pehli Tareekh, or paachvi Tareekh for most people.

It was February, last year when I went on one such date to a local Dominos pizzeria to treat myself on salary day. So I went to this place and I ordered my regular Margherita pizza and I searched for a place to sit but couldn’t find any. I came across one seating area where only 1 girl, who looked almost about my age was sitting. I asked her if I could join her table, to which she said ‘Sure’. For the longest time until we waited for the counters to display our magic order numbers we didn’t speak at all. Which is normal actually, I am not a big fan of talking to strangers but somehow this time I felt that maybe we could basic talk. Making friends used to be easier before right? When we didn’t have phones and were left to make new friends for real and ask them the 4 magic words that sometimes formed the foundation of our friendships. ‘Tera Naam kya hai?’ (What’s your name?) sounds funny now right? But that sincerely used to be the golden ice breaker sentence until we slightly grew up. At one point the silence got so awkward I just finally broke the ice & asked her, ‘What have you ordered?’ & then began our conversation, We spoke about things, we had a real conversation & we even shared our pizzas. It was during the time when sharing was considered safe, it was 2019, that year was awesome.

Her office was close to my place & my office was in the area she lived in, which was quite far away, it was a nice coincidence. We missed exchanging numbers but it didn’t matter as this was a usual go to place for both of us & we could catch up some other time coincidently but after a few months Domino’s unexpectedly got shut down and I could not even eat that #onelastpizza in the place I grew up eating pizzas in.

Nevertheless, occasional self dates do give you good experiences. Sometimes you learn, sometimes you make new friends

I Interviewed my Grandmother and was surprised to know how inspiring her life has been

Today, I would like to share with you the story of my Grandma, my ‘Nani’ (Mom’s Mom) or Dida as I fondly call her.

My Dida is definitely a lot sweeter than ‘Dida’ sounds. She is really cute, sweet and adorable and definitely a lot more than a conventional Grand-Mom.

For starters, she is the first one in my family to refer to and suggest Youtube videos for cooking recipes even though she’s the last one to use a smartphone. One day she just said, ‘Just Google it’ during a debate in my family.

Ofcourse, her coolness is a lot more than what I mentioned up there which is why I have since a while wanted to interview her.

So yes, she grew up in a post independence era and was the eldest among her 7 siblings who were brought up by an employed father and an illiterate mother which certainly did not stop her from being an independent woman.

An old picture of Dida and me

While growing up she realised the importance of money in a household and has always striven to be economically stable and even now she continues to save money and Banks are her best friends!

It was the shortage of money that motivated her to work before marriage. My Dida was a school drop out and discontinued schooling in 7th Standard because she felt a bit odd about her weight gain issues. She studied in a local Marathi medium school until 3rd Std that was the only school in her vicinity. She had a good command over English language as my Great Grand-Father would often read English stories and news-paper to her. So people who knew her family suggested she attend an English medium school and even after this shift she managed to pick the English language up really well and became a first ranker in her new school as well.

After Dida turned 16 she started looking for work and got several jobs as a typist or a receptionist. She says in those days it was not that uncommon for women of her age to go look for jobs, in fact there were a lot of women like her ,and she did not face any opposition from any of her family members. It was rather a very normal responsibility or duty of a kid in a household irrespective of the gender.

A few years later she met my Grandfather who came to visit her family to collect ‘Chaada’ or donation for Saraswati Puja and they fell in love and got married and had a beautiful daughter (my Mom).

For several years Dida was a homemaker and managed her household. Once, she visited her brother’s convent school to talk about his academic hurdles to the Principal and he asked her why she had chosen to drop out of school even when she was a bright student. He suggested that she could still give her Matriculate exams privately. Dida quickly agreed and collected the application form and with the help of my Grandfather (Dadu) she filled it up, submitted it, studied, gave her exams in October 1975 and passed.

In 1976, my Dadu informed Dida about a job opening in a Government autonomous institution of high prominence where my Dadu was already working. She could apply through examination and Interview. Yes, my Dadu was a very encouraging man and always supported Dida in her endeavours. He always felt that Dida was bright and was capable of achieving more in life. Dida’s interview and exams went very well and she was immediately hired & asked to join in 10 days. It seems the interviewer was impressed by her General and Political knowledge.

Managing job and household was not that big a concern and she was able to handle things smoothly.

A few months into joining Dida felt a little inferior because she was not a graduate and also the academic atmosphere in her office inspired her to apply for a Graduation course. And so she did!! She enrolled for a B.A in Political Science course in S.N.D.T University, Mumbai through correspondence and would attend lectures in the weekend, wake up at 4 am everyday to study (I just cannot do that). She passed with flying colours in 1981.

Through-out her 34 years of service, my Dida was known to have the disposition of an Iron lady because she had a very strong personality combined with simplicity and humility. She joined as a lower division clerk and retired as a Superintendent.

Dida is a solution oriented person, she’s always looking for innovative ways of doing things, and she’s always trying to fix things on her own and last but not the least, her financial and political knowledge is commendable

From a school drop out to an Office Superintendent – her journey is certainly inspiring. She always believes that good thoughts will attract good things and prays to Lord Krishna. She mentions that her husband, my Dadu was a man of  very high culture and vast knowledge; he moulded her life and actually introduced her to the world and how things move.

This goes out to show, if you have determination, curiosity and a supportive family, you can achieve anything you want.

Cheers to my Dida!